FHO RACING BMW MOTORRAD WITHDRAWS FROM THE 2023 NORTH WEST 200
The FHO Racing BMW Motorrad team are withdrawing from the 2023 fonaCAB and Nicholl Oils North West 200 due to no confidence in the application of the Superstock technical regulations.
The Superstock class technical regulations mandate the machines must fully comply with conditions regarding the wheels, where Superstock machines must remain with the originally homologated wheels from the manufacturer, which from BMW are carbon. It then goes on to prohibit carbon material, however aftermarket wheels are also not allowed and no mandated alternative specification is prescribed.
The FHO Racing BMW M 1000 RR machines passed scrutineering on Tuesday (9 May) and were allowed to take part in all qualifying sessions before being informed they were not allowed to race moments before the Briggs Equipment Superstock race this evening.
Having taking this issue out with the fonaCAB and Nicholl Oils North West 200 organisers, there is no confidence that the FHO Racing riders could take part in a race with the obvious dangers, and risks that road racing prevents and then the performance protested or disqualified on a technicality that is not adequately explained.
The FHO Racing team have checked the 2023 technical regulations against those of 2022 and the regulations remain the same, where the team raced the carbon homologated wheels in both Superstock races, as well as the event in 2019.
The effort commitment and logistics required to compete in the North West 200 are significant and this lack of confidence in the organisation renders the team’s participation in this year’s event impossible.
The FHO Racing team would like to sincerely apologise to all its sponsors and fans, and the team are now looking forward to getting back out on the roads in a few weeks time at the Isle of Man TT Races.
More, from a statement issued by North West 200 organizers:
The technical regulations of the Motorcycle Union of Ireland (Ulster Centre), under which the fonaCAB and Nicholl Oils North West 200 is run, state that carbon wheels are not permitted for use at any MCUI road race event.
Those regulations, which are implemented by the MCUI Stewards of the Meeting, were approved by the sport’s governing body in January 2023 and published on the North West 200’s website at that stage.
The FHO Racing BMW team were informed by the MCUI’s Stewards after qualifying on Thursday afternoon that their riders, Peter Hickman and Josh Brookes, would be excluded from the Briggs Equipment Superstock race as their machines were fitted with carbon wheels.
The NW200 organisers were informed of the Steward’s decision, which is final and binding upon the event, at 21.30pm on Thursday night during the final Steward’s meeting.
No such action had been discussed with the NW200 organisers prior to this time despite the machines having been scrutineered on both Tuesday and Thursday morning.
We deeply regret the FHO Racing BMW team’s decision to withdraw from the event tonight as a result of this action, a sentiment we know will be shared by all NW200 race fans.
“I hope for a great show!”: Thursday talking points in France
Hear from Bagnaia, Binder, Zarco, Quartararo, Bezzecchi, Miller and Marc Marquez!
Thursday, 11 May 2023
Bienvenue au Mans ! This weekend we hit event 1000 in FIM Grand Prix World Championship history, and ahead of the Shark Grand Prix de France, there was plenty to talk about in the two pre-event Press Conferences.
The first comprised Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), before Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was joined by Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and the returning Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).
Here are some key quotes!
Do you see this a big opportunity to take control of championship?
FRANCESCO BAGNAIA: “We have to see for the conditions because it looks like it will not be consistent and looks like it will rain, but also today the forecast was saying it was raining but it was dry all day. So it will be quite difficult the conditions here.Is always difficult to understand quickly, so we have to wait, wait to understand everything. The potential of our bike is great, it’s high, and we can fight for the top positions, but we have to be careful and calm to understand everything because it’s quite easy to make mistakes like I did last year. So let’s see.”
Francesco Bagnaia. Photo courtesy Dorna.
So… what about KTM?
“Sincerely, seeing them in Portimao with Jack finishing well, he was at the front in the Sprint race. Then Argentina with Brad winning the Sprint race. So, I was prepared to see them at the front in the Sprint race because both of them were starting from the first two rows. So I was quite prepared for it, but I was not I was not prepared for the long race because they did, I think, an incredible job for sure and Dani had helped them to improve their situation but both Brad and Jack did an amazing job so I think so we can expect them at the front also here.”
On Valentino Rossi’s joke in Jerez that a bad start on Friday led to a great result in Jerez:
“Sincerely, I prefer to start like in Austin, but I don’t think I get distracted in the race. But in any case,we’re always having a lot of jokes with Vale and also at home we were speaking and I don’t think that was, like I said, for a distraction or anything else but was just what happened. In any case we can learn from our mistakes and we can understand we can learn so maybe I can improve from that situation. I was happy to see Vale back in the Ducati box so it was good!”
BRAD BINDER: “I’m excited to get started here. Two podiums last week gives me a lot of confidence and I’ve got a lot of faith in the machine beneath me. A few tracks this season haven’t been good for us in the past but somehow they’ve been much better so I expect to be stronger here then I have in previous seasons. The bike is working great and I’ve really good confidence with it. Le Mans is a track I enjoy but we’ve never just put a good weekend together and yeah, that’s priority number 1 on my list. I want to change that, try walk away here with a solid weekend overall. Let’s just keep our head down and keep fighting and see what we can do when it is time to perform.”
Brad Binder. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Are KTM a real challenger for the title now?
“I mean it is clear that we have been stronger than in previous seasons, no matter the tracks we’ve gone to. The team has done an unreal job to bring us this new machine that is way more competitive. It gives me so much more, like, clear, calm, peace of mind when you show up to a GP knowing that if you do a good job you can fight for wins and podiums whereas in the past it’s been ok if we could crack the top five, that’s the most we could get. It’s exciting for me yeah, I just really want to take things one race at a time and do my best on the day and bring home the most points as possible. It’s exciting, I’m looking forward to it and let’s see what tomorrow brings.
How much you looking forward to it?
JOHANN ZARCO: “Now I’ve had bit of experience with the French Grand Prix! After the tour in Le Mans, we were lucky to have the sun because with the MotoGP bike in the street, I think it’s better to get some sun. It’s a track I like and I hope I will fight for the best positions in both races, Sprint and the long race on Sunday. Clearly from Jerez I tried to get a bit more competitive in both races and I was pretty close to the top guys. Unfortunately I didn’t get the results because the performance was I think quite good to be close to the podium, and hear it’s a track where I’ve had much better result than in Jerez the other years, so we should think about a good weekend, even with the tricky conditions that we can have. I’m not sure if it is going to rain or it going to be dry, but I know that I can adapt quite quickly to this and maybe I can find an advantage in this situation.”
Johann Zarco. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Did you find anything at test?
“I hope yes. The good thing at the Monday test in Jerez was that we didn’t have anything we needed to test on the bike for Ducati, so we could play much more with Massimo with the set up and get more feedback. Then I guess now we have our base and then we can maybe work more on the details and maybe in France now with the tricky condition we won’t have time to really play with the details, but at least we have a good base where I know I can perform on it and this can help to get the last step for the podium!”
FABIO QUARTARARO: “I hope for a great show from tomorrow! And even this afternoon I’m gonna give my best. It’s not a normal GP, it’s different and we have only one in France so hopefully it’ll be a turning point for us this weekend and make the fans happy.”
“We tried a few things in the Jerez Test but not all of them were good. We’ll try the chassis again this weekend and see how it works. Especially for the time attacks in Jerez, we changed the base of the bike a little because form the beginning of the year we can’t find a bike where I am 100% confident on it. We will try something again this weekend with the base we did at the Test that in the time attack we made a small step.”
Fabio Quartararo. Photo courtesy Dorna.
What are the benefits of the chassis you tried?
“I like it. The benefit we don’t really know. It’s not clearly better, but not worse. We want to see on another track to see the feeling because trying only in Jerez can maybe be a mistake so we will try the standard chassis and the new one tomorrow.”
Was it important to get he feeling back at the test?
MARCO BEZZECCHI: “Yeah, as you said in Jerez it was a difficult weekend for me. Overall in the test, I had a good feeling, but at the end is not really important because it’s Monday, so it was better to have this feeling on Sunday and Saturday. Anyway, I can’t complain about how the test went. We found something interesting on the bike and especially I worked in practice starts which is my weak point for the moment. So yeah, can’t complain about about how it was and now I’m thinking about this race weekend Mark are looking ahead to this week.”
Marco Bezzecchi. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Do you like Le Mans?
“Yeah, it’s a track that I really like. Last year I was not too bad in race, I had a good race pace, but unfortunately I was starting not on the front, and then also my start was not very good, as always. But yeah, it’s a track that I like. I’m really charged for this weekend and yeah, I can’t wait.!”
Why no moustache?
“It’s here but it’s very short because I had to trim it up a little bit, because it was too much for me! I don’t like myself looking so much like Jack, but I will keep it until the best is done.”
JACK MILLER: “Le Mans is a place I really enjoy. I say it every year, even though it tried to kill me once upon a time, it’s still one of my favourite tracks on the calendar. Even in 2020 I was there fighting with Danilo and Dovi for the win until my bike expired. But no it’s a place I’ve been really, really fast at throughout my whole career. And you know, it’s a strange one with the weather. It’s definitely one of the ones that I look forward to coming to, and I think it’s a track to that can suit our bike. You know the bike as we showed in Jerez was really good at stopping and then also getting into tight corners which you kind of need here. I’m looking forward to this weekend.”
Jack Miller. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Stop and go strengths will be key?
“Definitely, between that and also the let’s say the weight of it, the way that the bike changes direction. Le Mans is kind of a track where you need to stop-go part of it. But then also you need to be able to get the timing right, especially in turns 3 and 4. And then also over the back after the back straight, with the chicanes is where you kind of need to get the timing right and the bike needs to react in the right way, so I feel like we’ve got that with this bike and you know as you said week by week gotten better and better and the bike’s gotten more and more comfortable with it. We were able to push with it in Texas, obviously until I crashed, and then to back that up with another challenge the following weekend in Jerez and to come away from that with a couple of podiums and to show at least a little bit of our speed, I think we come here in pretty good condition.”
Why are the KTMs so good off the line?
“I wouldn’t tell you that because then everyone knows, but I mean, I’ve had good starts my whole Grand Prix career. On the Ducati, everybody said it was the Ducati launch device but now it seems like the Ducati launch devices are complaining and the KTM ones are the best ones. I mean, Brad and I both were getting off the line pretty well in Jerez. I mean, we had a good chance to show it with four starts over the weekend, but fingers crossed, no red flags this weekend and we only have to do two of those.”
Do you expect to come straight back to the level?
MARC MARQUEZ: “Yeah really happy to come back, but I can’t expect a lot about this weekend. It’s true it’s been a month and a half without riding any type of bike, so step by step I will try to get back in the rhythm, the target for this weekend is to get that rhythm again of a MotoGP bike and then the next three weeks start to rebuild my physical condition. As you know I had a hand injury so it was hard to push in the gym and to keep the same physical condition as Portimao, but we’ll also try to work for the team, for Honda, I missed the test in Jerez which is one of the most important tests on the calendar. So we will try to test the things here. Unfortunately for us, the weather conditions here look a bit tricky but we will try to do our best and try to finish the weekend in a good way.”
Marc Marquez. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Mentally how difficult was it to sit out injured again?
“It’s true I worked really good, the last winter was the first without injuries and I was able to prepare for the first race really well, and I felt really good. We were struggling during the test and we were struggling during the weekend but when it’s the moment we arrived, in the Sprint and qualifying, even in the race I felt strong for the two laps, but yeah, unlucky for us the hammer was there again and I get another injury. Anyway I keep pushing, mentally I’m prepared, when you have these kind of things it’s difficult to keep motivated but the most important is to keep your routine and try to come back as soon as possible, which I did. Now step by step to be on the rhythm again and have a good pace.”
Thoughts on the penalty…
“Yeah, for me it’s normal. When I receive the penalty the rules were – now they’ve changed – but when I received the penalty, when I went to the Stewards I completely agreed to receive that because it was a big mistake. On the paper and when we spoke it was for the Argentina GP, then after two days somebody changed it. I don’t know who, but somebody changed it, it’s not my fault. So yeah, now it looks like it will change for the future, I don’t think that’s the best solution. Changing that rule will create some things that for the riders, we’ll take more risk. For me it was easy for me to come back in Jerez, take the penalty and stop in the box. These things we need to avoid, so I think they need to think about another strategy.”
Alastair Seeley, riding his Milwaukee Tools BMW M 1000 RR, earned pole position with a time of 4:20.634 around the 8.97-mile Triangle Circuit in Northern Ireland on Thursday. That equates to an average speed of 123.898 mph.
American Patricia Fernandez-West, riding for JMcC Roofing Racing, qualified 48th in Superbike with a time of 5:03.143 (106.524 mph) on a Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Seeley, riding his Powertoolmate Ducati Panigale V2, also claimed pole position in Supersport with a lap time of 4:36.589 and an average speed of 116.751 mph. Fernandez-West qualified 42nd in Supersport with a time of 5:17.180 (101.810 mph) on a Yamaha YZF-R6.
Seeley, riding his SYNETIC BMW M 1000 RR, also took pole position in Superstock with a lap at 4:21.769 and an average speed of 123.361 mph. Fernandez-West earned the 41st spot on the Superstock grid with a time of 5:01.714 (107.029 mph) on her Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Richard Cooper, riding his KMR Kawasaki ER6 (a.k.a. Ninja 650), captured the Supertwins pole position with a time of 4:49.037 and an average speed of 111.723 mph. American Cory West, a North West 200 rookie and Fernandez-West’s husband, qualified 18th at 5:19.386 (101.106 mph) on a JMcC Roofing Racing Kawasaki ER6.
The first round of races takes place Thursday evening.
Editorial Note: The current All-Time World Superbike Lap Record at Misano is 1:33.328, which was set by Alvaro Bautista on his Ducati in 2022.
FIM Superbike World Championship Test
Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli, San Marino
May 11, 2023
Unofficial Test Times (all using Pirelli tires):
Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Duc), 1:33.035
Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Yam), 1:33.545
Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Duc), 1:33.708
Xavi Vierge, Spain (Hon), 1:34.043
Garrett Gerloff, USA (BMW), 1:34.345
Axel Bassani, Italy (Duc), 1:34.385
Tom Sykes, UK (BMW), 1:34.416
Iker Lecuona, Spain (Hon), 1:34.602
Scott Redding, UK (BMW), 1:34.637
Philipp Oettl, Germany (Duc), 1:34.729
Lorenzo Baldassarri, Italy (Yam), 1:34.789
Andrea Locatelli, Italy (Yam), 1:34.800
Dominique Aegerter, Switzerland (Yam), 1:34.807
Remy Gardner, Australia (Yam), 1:34.853
Lucas Mahias, France (Kaw), 1:35.426
Loris Baz, France (BMW), 1:35.543
Nicolo Bulega, Italy (Duc), 1:37.010*
Tarran Mackenzie, UK (Hon), 1:37.606
*World Supersport rider
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Misano hosts two-day WorldSBK Supported Test, Bautista fastest on Day 1
Just a few days after Round 4 at Barcelona, WorldSBK is already back testing at Misano as the 2023 grid gets ready for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round
Championship leader Alvaro Bautista topped the timesheet at the end of day one. The Ducati rider completed 87 laps over the day. He was on a lap record pace setting a fastest lap of 1’33.035s, 0.510s quicker than Razgatlioglu.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (54). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Toprak Razgatlioglu was the second fastest rider with a best time of 1’33.545s. He is the rider who completed more laps on Thursday with 92 laps.
Michael Rinaldi (21). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Having completed 90 laps over the day, Ducati’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi was third overall, 0.673s behind his teammate.
Xavi Vierge (97). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Xavi Vierge was the lead Honda rider in fourth with a fastest time of 1’34.043s. Teammate Iker Lecuona ended the day in eighth place.
Garrett Gerloff (31). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Garrett Gerloff was fifth for BMW, 1.310s off Bautista’s best time.
Tom Sykes (66). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Stepping in to replace injured Michael van der Mark for BMW, Tom Sykes was seventh.
Tarran Mackenzie (95). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Tarran Mackenzie tested for the PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team, making his return to WorldSBK.
WorldSBK Day 1 Report
The first of two days of testing for the majority of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field concluded with rain interrupting the final part of the day at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was under lap record pace in the morning as he used Pirelli’s SCQ tyre to edge closer to the 1’32s bracket, with Bautista finishing ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) whose day was disrupted by a Turn 3 crash in the morning session.
Reigning Champion Bautista led the way on Day 1 as he set a lap time faster than the existing all-time lap record after posting a 1’33.035s in the closing stages of the morning session while using Pirelli’s SCQ tyre, with his time around three tenths faster than his own lap record set in last year’s Tissot Superpole session. Bautista’s opening day, where he completed 87 laps including 64 in the morning, was spent working on the bike with new their rpm limit as well as looking ahead to the Emilia-Romagna Round. Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi took third spot on Day 1, 0.673s behind his teammate, as he worked on a setup comparison using setups from Mandalika and Barcelona as he completed 90 laps.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) took second spot after posting a 1’33.545s in the morning session on the SCX tyre, around half-a-second down on Bautista. Razgatlioglu had a small crash at Turn 3 in the morning on old tyres, but returned to the pits on his bike, while he had a focus on swingarms and linkage that had already been tested before but with modifications. He completed 92 laps on Day 1.
The Misano test is an important one for Team HRC with riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge testing two variations of a new swingarm in order to test the direction. Vierge was the fastest rider on Day 1 out of the two after he completed 87 laps and took fourth place with a 1’34.043s, when he used the SCQ tyre, while Lecuona completed 65 laps. His best time was a 1’34.602s to put him in eighth place, ensuring both Hondas finished in the top ten.
The headline at BMW was the return of Tom Sykes (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to BMW to temporarily replace BMW. His programme did not involve new parts but running the bike he finished the 2021 campaign with to compare it to the 2023 machine. Sykes was seventh at the end of the day after setting a 1’34.416s and completing 61 laps.
It was something rare, if not unprecedented, in International-level professional motorcycle racing. In retrospect, however, it’s remarkable that it took so long to happen.
At the Catalunya round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, race officials red-flagged the Supersport300 Superpole session for irresponsible riding and called all of the riders to an impromptu meeting in pit lane, where FIM representative Antonio Lima absolutely chewed out the entire field.
“If you don’t want to race, easy. Go home,” Lima said. “What we have seen this morning is a shame. Don’t play with safety. Next time you go to the track and you do this again, I stop the practice again. This is a World Championship. This is not a playground for kids. If you are not adult enough to be here, stay at home. If it is necessary, I stop the race. If it is necessary, I cancel the race. Go to the track and race like riders, not like stupid kids.”
The frustration of trying to rein in dangerous riding in this class has been boiling over for some time. But there are pressures in this class, at this level, that make it extremely difficult for riders to not engage in risky behavior.
What happened at Catalunya? When the Superpole practice started, nearly all of the riders went out on the track and began cruising around slowly, waiting to find the right pack to follow. After three minutes and 11 seconds of this, race officials had had enough and halted proceedings on the spot.
The Supersport300 class has been under more scrutiny since Dean Berta Vinales–cousin of MotoGP racer Maverick Vinales–died in a multi-bike accident in Jerez in 2021 and Victor Steeman died in a similar incident in Portugal in 2022.
Aboard small-displacement, close-to-stock motorcycles, Supersport300 riders tend to circulate the track in large packs during races and rely heavily on drafting during qualifying. At Catalunya, 10 laps into the first race, the first 18 riders were separated by 2.069 seconds. The large, closely-spaced packs have led to problems because if a rider crashes, the following racers have little or no chance to react before hitting the downed rider or bike. Their behavior is much the same in qualifying, with similar risks. And timing the draft, or waiting around for a pack of bikes to tow you around, becomes as or more important than raw speed.
But as Maverick Vinales and others have pointed out, this kind of pack behavior is almost a requirement for racers in the class. With very limited horsepower, light weight, sticky slicks, and extremely limited modifications, more riders can get the absolute best out of these bikes. With the machines so equally matched, no one can get away at the front. And drafting is critical. In Race One at Catalunya, the first nine riders crossed the finish line within a second. And the rider in the back of the pack gets a massive draft from those in front, making it even more difficult for the leaders and faster riders to break away.
It’s also worth noting who is racing in the Supersport300 class. Yes, it’s inexpensive in terms of racing in a World Championship. But it’s not cheap. And few, if any, of these riders are earning career-worthy salaries. At this point on the ladder, there’s a good chance that these riders are kids, bringing sponsorship or cash to the teams in exchange for a ride in the hopes of doing well here and climbing the professional racing ladder, where a fat paycheck might be found.
Do poorly in Supersport300, and a lot of other people’s money goes down the drain as your career sinks like a stone. The pressure to perform is immense, it is laid squarely on the shoulders of very young adults, and the price for riding irresponsibly is relatively small–generally a grid penalty.
In their place, what would you do? Maybe exactly what many of these riders are doing–waiting for a draft that can give them a critical edge in qualifying. At worst, they feel, if they try it and get penalized, they’re no worse off–they’ll just wind up back where they would have qualified had they tried for a hot lap on their own.
Increasingly harsh penalties have not worked. Perhaps the series organizers could consider making changes in the way qualifying works. Send the fastest 12 or 15 riders from the practice sessions to a final Superpole session. The longer practice sessions would remove the pressure to hang around immediately after leaving the pits to find the right drafting partner. The riders would have more than an hour, with both sessions counted, to put in a fast lap. Then, for the final Superpole session, have the riders go out in reverse order of their fastest practice lap, one at a time. No drafting, no packs, just pure skill. And it will give the faster riders a better chance at making a break at the start of a race.
It might not be the perfect solution. But it will work better than the system in place now. And no one wants to be standing on the grid for a moment of silence on Sunday because a 15-year-old died in a race accident on Saturday. No one wants to be standing next to a fellow journalist who wants to know how he’s supposed to behave, what he’s supposed to do, because he’s never been on the scene of a racing fatality in the past. And if that sounds specific, I spent Sunday morning at that race in Jerez in 2021 doing exactly that, comforting another member of the press corps who had come face-to-face with the worst part of the sport for the first time.
Chewing out the riders and red-flagging the session is one reaction. But wouldn’t it be better to create structural changes that will enhance safety and at the same time reward the riders with more speed and skill?
Pricing and specifications to be announced in the 2nd half of 2023
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – May 11, 2023 . . . BMW Motorrad is proud to present the new BMW R 12 nineT in celebration of “100 Years of BMW Motorrad” and, exactly ten years after the launch of the original R nineT.
Like the BMW R nineT, introduced in 2013, the new BMW R 12 nineT is a pure, powerful, classic roadster which offers a wealth of conceptual options for almost unlimited customizing and personal individualization.
Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad: “The R nineT and its customizing concept established the new Heritage experience for BMW Motorrad’s 90th birthday and has become an indispensable cornerstone of our model range. The new R 12 nineT continues the successful heritage story surrounding the legendary BMW boxer engines with an even more classic, reduced design language, even greater degrees of freedom when it comes to customizing and, last but not least, new and innovative technology.”
1200 Boxer motor with redesigned intake and exhaust systems
100 years ago, the very first BMW motorcycle – the R 32 – arrived, powered by an air/oil-cooled flat-twin engine. The boxer’s unmistakable design, powerful acceleration, unique power delivery, hallmark sound and smooth running quickly made it a legendary synonym for BMW motorcycles. With its air/oil-cooled boxer engine, the new R 12 nineT continues this great tradition. The number 12 has been added to reflect the model’s engine capacity, as done in other BMW motorcycle models.
Classic, Purist Design
Even more than its predecessor, the new R 12 nineT combines the strong visible character of the boxer engine, a classic design language of motorcycle eras past, innovative technology and a modular concept that offers the rider a maximum of customization options. Reduced even more to the essentials, it delivers high emotional appeal.
Edgar Heinrich, Head of Design BMW Motorrad: “The purist design language is dominated by the clear tank/seat/rear line, in the style of the traditional /5 or the legendary R 90 S of the 70s. At first glance, the tank itself is a classic BMW boxer tank, with a typical bend in the lower edge and classic knee contact. The new R 12 NineT also features side covers in the area of the frame triangle in the authentic Roadster look – another reminiscence of BMW motorcycles of the 1970s.”
Particular attention to detail is evident in the redesigned front fender, the LED headlamp design and the two round instruments gauges. As is tradition, attractive customization options are offered as part of the original BMW Motorrad accessory range. With customizing in mind, the new R 12 nineT features an LED taillight unit integrated into the seat for a “short tail” appearance.
The highlights of the new BMW R 12 nineT:
Classic, purist design.
Workmanship with great attention to detail.
Air/oil-cooled 2-cylinder boxer engine.
Designed for customizing.
One-piece tubular space frame with bolted-on rear frame.
High-quality upside-down telescopic forks at the front and Paralever at the rear.
Left-side exhaust system with double muffler and conical end pieces.
Tailor-made, high-quality original BMW Motorrad accessory range.
BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles as well as the BMW XM. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 146 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – May 11, 2023 . . . BMW Motorrad is proud to announce the newest and fifth member of the Heritage line R 18 family, the BMW R 18 Roctane. The R 18 Roctane joins the R 18, R 18 Classic, R 18 B and R 18 Transcontinental.
The R 18 borrows styling cues from past models, such as the 1936 BMW R 5, where the iconic air-oil cooled boxer motor is the epicenter of the purist, “streamliner” design. Modern technology discretely supports the R 18 Roctane in delivering an emotional riding experience, from the first start of the engine to wherever your heart and the front wheel may guide you, near or far.
Unique R 18 Roctane features
Mid-rise handlebars
Instrument cluster integrated into the headlight housing
Painted hard side cases with integrated turn signals.
Blacked-out engine and drivetrain
Dark Chrome exhaust system
21-inch front and 18-inch rear alloy wheels.
Design
The new BMW R 18 Roctane is a cruiser, a bagger and everything in between. The larger 21-inch front wheel, combined with the 18-inch rear wheel and the mid-rise handlebars give the new R 18 model a more purposeful look.
Taking design cues from air/oil-cooled BMW boxer models of decades past, design features such as the engine acting as center piece, the double-loop frame, the exposed drive shaft and the rigid-style rear all combine to deliver the tapered streamliner design language intended by BMW Motorrad.
Starting from the steering head, the frame spine and rear swing arm top frame tubes visually form a continuous line. In conjunction with the swing arm’s lower beam tubes, which are aligned with the frame down tubes, this flowing line gives the new R 18 Roctane a muscular appearance.
Attention to the smallest details can be seen throughout the R 18 Roctane. The classic body parts of the R 18 Roctane are made of metal. The 4.2-gallon fuel tank’s teardrop shape is derived from the R 5, as are the design of the front and rear fenders, the fork covers and the headlight housing. All, also made of steel.
The flawless paint finishes that have been featured on all R 18 models are found on the new R 18 Roctane. Black Storm Metallic is standard while Mineral Grey Metallic Matte and Manhattan Metallic Matte finishes are available as optional colors. These matte paint finishes contrast with the high-gloss black chassis and ensure a classically modern look.
Painted Hard Cases
The new R 18 Roctane is equipped for cruising and touring thanks to body-color painted cases with integrated LED taillights. The cases offer 27 liters of luggage space each and can be equipped with optional removable liners. The “filler stripes” that cover the space between the cases and the bike can be selected from the available accessories. The original BMW Motorrad Accessories range also offers soft luggage options such as the rear bag or frame bag made of waxed canvas with genuine leather trim.
A rear view of a BMW R18 Roctane. Photo courtesy BMW Motorrad.
Headlight with Instrument Cluster
Inspired by the legendary 1936 BMW R 5, and from then, on almost all BMW motorcycles until the early 1970s, the R 18 Roctane’s round instrument cluster is integrated into the metal LED headlight housing to give a unique and classic look. The “BERLIN BUILT” lettering on the instrument dial is a reference to the bike’s origin and for all its classic looks, the instrument cluster delivers all the important information such as engine rpm, gear indicator, status inquiry and trip computer details.
heart of the new BMW R 18 Roctane is the 1,802-cc boxer engine. This motor carries on the tradition of motorcycles from Munich and Berlin-Spandau from the very beginning of BMW Motorrad production in 1923.
The engine output remains unchanged; 91 hp at 4,750 rpm and a maximum torque of 116 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm, with more than 110 lb-ft. available between 2,000 to 4,000 rpm. The maximum engine speed is 5,750 rpm.
The air/oil cooled motor features a vertically split aluminum engine and weighs a combined 244 lbs. with the transmission.
In contrast to the classic air-cooled two-valve boxer engines from BMW Motorrad, the forged crankshaft of the R 18 motor, has an additional center main bearing, which became necessary, due to the large cylinder volume, to prevent undesirable bending vibrations of the crankshaft.
Forged connecting rods, cast aluminum pistons, cylinder walls coated with NiCaSil and a wet sump lubrication system with a two-stage oil pump driven by the crankshaft via a sleeve chain are additional features of the largest BMW boxer motor ever installed in a production motorcycle.
When developing the valve drive for the R 18 boxer motor, BMW Motorrad engineers were inspired by a very special engine design from history – the 2-cylinder boxer of the 1936 – 1941 R 5 / R 51 and the 1950 – 1951 R 51/2, the latter having been the first BMW motorcycle with a boxer engine after the Second World War.
The twin camshaft design allows for shorter pushrods. This arrangement reduces the moving masses, decreases deflection and minimizes the linear expansion of the push rods. The two intake and exhaust valves in the cylinder head are actuated in pairs via fork rocker arms. Valve clearances can be changed by means of one adjusting screw with lock nut per valve, making valve clearance adjustments quicker and easier.
Transmission and Shaft Drive
The constant-mesh, 6-speed gearbox, is located in a two-part aluminum housing and features a four-shaft transmission with helical gear pairs. The transmission input shaft with cleat damper, drives the two transmission shafts with the gear wheel pairs via a countershaft. Reverse gear, driven by an intermediate gear and an electric motor, is available as an option.
A single-plate, dry, self-reinforcing anti-hopping clutch eliminates undesired rear wheel hop which may be caused by engine drag torque during hard down shifts.
As in all BMW motorcycles with boxer engines, torque is transmitted from the gearbox to the rear wheel via a driveshaft or Cardan shaft drive. The open, nickel-plated drive shaft and universal joint are examples of classic motorcycle technology commonly used on BMW Motorrad models up to and including model year 1955. A so-called tripoid joint is installed on the gearbox side for the purpose of length compensation.
Chassis
The chassis in the new R 18 Roctane is the same double-loop steel tube frame used in the R 18 and R 18 Classic. The high manufacturing quality and attention to detail is evident in barely perceptible details such in the steering head struts as well as in the welded joints between steel tubes and cast or forged parts. Some of the tube joints in the steering head area are cut at an angle, which makes the connection look particularly pleasing to the eye.
The rear steel swing arm is made of steel tubes and cast or forged parts and combined with the central cantilever shock, is designed to give the look of the rigid frame used in the original BMW R 5. As a result, the rigid-frame style layout also provides the so-called flyline, from front to rear, of the overall R 18 design.
The suspension elements of the new R 18 Roctane, also reflect the classic design. Electronic adjustment options have been deliberately omitted. Instead, telescopic forks and a central shock with travel-dependent damping and adjustable spring preload ensure superior wheel guidance and suspension control and comfort. As in the legendary BMW R 5, the fork tubes are encased in fork sleeves. The fixed fork tube diameter is 49 mm, while suspension travel is 4.7-inches at the front and 3.5-inches at the rear, same as on the R 18.
Controls and Ergonomics
The new BMW R 18 Roctane features mid-mounted controls, a long-standing BMW Motorrad philosophy of rider positioning. This classic position behind the cylinders is not only typical of BMW, but it also allows for a relaxed and active riding position for optimally controlling the motorcycle. The R 18 Roctane features a slim two-level seat that tapers towards the rear, with rear passenger straps, and is equipped with running boards in conjunction with a heel-toe gearshift controls. The mid-rise, black-coated handlebars and the comfortably low 28.3-inch seat height (27.3-inches for the R 18) ensure an upright and relaxed riding posture.
Wheels, Tires and Brakes
The new BMW R 18 Roctane features twin 300 mm front disc brakes with four-piston fixed calipers and a 300 mm single-disk rear brake. BMW Motorrad Integral ABS (partially integral) is standard. On this brake system, the hand brake lever activates the front and rear brakes together. The foot brake lever only acts on the rear brake. BMW Motorrad Integral ABS adjusts the brake force distribution between the front and rear brakes during braking based on the dynamic wheel load distribution.
The R 18 Roctane’s cast alloy wheels have a very distinctive look, greater wheel diameters at the front and rear compared to the R 18. The 3.5 x 21” front wheel (3.5 x 19-inches on the R 18) is equipped with a 120/70 B21 tire (120/70 R19 on the R 18), while a 180/55 B18 tire (180/65 B16 on the R 18) is used on the 5.5 x 18″ rear wheel (5.0 x 16-inches on the R 18). The 21-inch front wheel extends the castor significantly (7.3-inches in the R 18 Roctane vs. 5.9-inches for the R 18), improving straight-line stability.
Adaptive Headlight
The optional adaptive headlight, which is unique in this class, works by activating separate LED elements in the main headlight, which each have their own reflectors, depending on the lean angle. The function is used to compensate for the lean angle in relation to the cut-off of the low beam. The signal of the lean angle sensor is read, and the adaptive headlight is switched on. The function is activated when the engine is running, the low beam or high beam is activated, darkness is detected, and the motorcycle is moving at a speed above 6 mph and at a lean angle approximately between 7° and 25°. This significantly improves the illumination of the inside of the curve – a big safety plus when riding at night or in other situations with poor lighting conditions.
Available Reverse Assist and Hill Start Control plus standard Cruise Control.
The new R 18 Roctane can be equipped with optional Reverse Assist and Hill Start Control. Reverse Assist can be activated via the selector lever when needed. Reverse is then initiated by pressing on the starter button. Hill Start Control makes it particularly easy to start off on an incline. It is activated by briefly operating the hand or foot brake lever. Optional heated grips will keep your hands warm on cold days. The R 18 Roctane is equipped with standard cruise control.
Riding Modes and Safety Systems
The BMW R 18 Roctane is equipped with standard keyless start and Riding Modes. Keyless Ride allows the rider to keep the key safely in the pocket.
The new R 18 Roctane features the same three riding modes R 18 riders are familiar with: “Rain”, “Roll” and “Rock”. ASC (Automatic Stability Control, disengageable) and Engine Drag Control are also standard and ensures a high level of riding safety.
In “Rain” mode, throttle response is gentler, and the control characteristics of ASC and engine drag control allow for a more slippery road surface to achieve a very high level of riding safety.
In “Road” mode, the engine offers optimum throttle response, while ASC and engine drag control are set to achieve ideal performance on all roads.
The “Rock” riding mode allows the rider to explore the full dynamic potential of the new R 18 Roctane. Throttle response is very spontaneous and direct, and ASC allows a little more slip.
In each riding mode, the optimum interaction of throttle response, ASC control and engine drag torque control is provided. This means that the three riding modes offer optimum adjustment options – both, with regard to road conditions (Rain mode), and the rider’s personal ride experience (Rock mode).
The standard, electronically controlled, Engine Drag Control prevents the rear wheel from slipping because of abrupt throttle changes or downshifting. An anti-hopping clutch is opened from a mechanically preset threshold to prevent the rear wheel from hopping – for example when down shifting. However, if the tire’s available grip is below this opening threshold, for example in wet conditions, the rear wheel could still exceed the traction limit due to the engine drag torque and simultaneous activation of the rear wheel brake and then slip. Thanks to engine drag control, the new R 18 Roctane detects this danger at an early stage. Depending on the coefficient of friction between the tire and the road surface, the throttle valves are opened in milliseconds, in such a way that the drag torque is reduced, and the rear wheel remains within its traction range. This results in further enhanced safety, especially on slippery roads.
Colors
Black Storm Metallic
Mineral Gray Metallic Matte
Manhattan Metallic Matte
Standard Equipment
2-cylinder 1,802 cc air/oil-cooled Boxer motor 91 hp and 116 lb-ft of torque
6-speed helical toothed gearbox
Stainless steel exhaust system
Anti-hopping single-disk, dry clutch
Nickel-plated exposed shaft drive
Mid-rise handlebar
21-inch front and 18-inch rear cast aluminum wheels
Automatic stability control
BMW Motorrad Integral ABS (partially integral)
300 mm twin-disk front and 300 mm single-disk rear brakes
Dynamic Brake Control
Steering Stabilizer
49mm Telescopic forks with fork covers
12v power socket
Instrument cluster integrated into headlight housing
The R 18 Roctane features a wide selection of BMW Motorrad and BMW Option 719 accessories, including:
Exhaust systems
Engine, cylinder head cover and are intake runner covers
Wheels
Mirrors
Front fenders
Expansion tank, fuel filler and fork covers
Hand control levers
Solo seats, passenger seats and back rests
Windshields
Tank bags
Luggage rack
Rear bag
Mobile phone bag
Technical specifications.
R 18 Roctane
Engine
Capacity
cc/cu. in.
1,802 / 110
Bore x stroke
mm
107.1 x 100
Output
hp
91 @ 4,750 rpm
Torque
lb-ft.
116 @ 3,000 rpm
Type
Air/oil-cooled 2-cylinder 4-stroke boxer
No. of cylinders
2
Compression / fuel
9.6:1 / premium unleaded
Valve / accelerator actuation
OHV / 4-valves per cylinder
Ø intake/exhaust valve dia.
mm
41.2 / 35.0
Ø throttle body dia.
mm
48
Engine control
BMS-O
Emission control
Closed-loop 3-way catalytic converter, EU5
Electrical system
Alternator
W
600
Battery
V/Ah
12/26 maintenance-free
Headlight
LED low and high beam
Starter
kW
1.5
Transmission
Clutch
Hydraulically activated single-plate dry clutch
Gearbox
Constant-mesh 6-speed gearbox
Primary ratio
1.16
Transmission ratios I
2.438
II
1.696
III
1.296
IV
1.065
V
0.903
VI
0.784
Rear wheel drive
Universal shaft
Transmission ratio
3.091
Suspension
Frame construction type
Steel double-loop tube frame
Front suspension
Fixed telescopic fork, 49 mm
Rear suspension
Cantilever
Suspension travel front/rear
in.
4.7 / 3.5
Wheel castor
in.
7.3
Wheelbase
in.
67.7
Steering head angle
°
55.3
Brakes
front
Twin disc brake Ø 300 mm
rear
Single-disc brake Ø 300 mm
ABS
BMW Motorrad Partially Integral ABS
Wheels
Light alloy cast wheels
front
3.5 x 21″
rear
5.5 x 18”
Tires
Front
120/70 B 21
Rear
180/55 B 18
Dimensions and weights
Total length
in.
103.0
Total width with mirrors
in.
37.5
Seat height
in.
28.3
DIN unladen weight
lbs.
825
Permitted total weight
lbs.
1,234
Fuel tank capacity
gal.
4.2
Performance figures
0-62 mph
sec.
5.46
Top speed
mph
111
BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles as well as the BMW XM. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 146 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
The Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association (OMRRA) teamed up with the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) to open the 2023 season of racing in the Pacific Northwest. Rain loomed in the forecast all weekend, but racers and fans in attendance were treated to nearly perfect track conditions and sunshine all weekend long. The first race weekend of the year is almost like the first day of school, with racers showing off their new machines, livery, and leathers. There are also the “new kids,” of which OMRRA welcomed 12 to ranks as new Novice racers. Some racers even pulled straight-As with wins in all of their core race classes.
In the Money Well Lending Title Championship, local star Andy DiBrino took a weekend off from preparing an MV Agusta F3 RR for competition in MotoAmerica’s Supersport class to dust off his EDR-tuned Kawasaki ZX-10R and take wins in Formula Ultra, Open Supersport, and Open Superbike. Hot on his tail was the #1 bike of Kevin Pinkstaff on a Kawasaki ZX-10R prepared by Zlock Racing. David Kohlstaedt also showed impressive performance in these classes on a new-to-him BMW S 1000 RR.
OMRRA’s Clubman Championship, sponsored by MotoCorsa, pits “the rest of the club” against each other in the hunt for the #1c plate. The star of the Ultra Lightweight races was Austin McCabe on his Gray Area Racing KTM RC 390, followed closely by three other RC 390s from the same Eugene, Oregon-based builder Gray Area Racing. McCabe currently leads the Clubman Championship.
Fans were treated to another orange surprise with 2022 Northern Talent Cup winner and MotoAmerica Junior Cup racer Rossi Moor showing up to race at Portland International Raceway for his first time, piloting his 2018 KTM RC 390 R.
In the Middleweight races, Hannah Johnson, Nathan Aldrich, Adam Faussett, Joe Rocha, and Oliver Jervis were all race winners and all on different machinery. The Middleweight classes pit the widest variety of machines against each other, but made for the closest racing all weekend. The 600 races saw former champion Joe Pittman return with a new Kawasaki ZX-6R to take 4/4 race wins. Pittman was followed closely by Brian and Kinzer Naylor and Andy DiBrino riding a naked KTM 890 Duke R.
In the Lightweight Supersport class, Adam Faussett set a new PIR lap record of 1:18.807 aboard his Tiger Tail Racing 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 400.
Tim O’Mahony, Matthew Winter, and Ryan Shanahan are sitting in the top spots of the Langlitz Leathers Vintage Championship.
OMRRA’s next event takes place at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon, June 9-11, 2023. A second June event follows the week after at Ridge Motorsports Park, in Shelton Washington, June 16-18, 2023.
OMRRA, incorporated in 1972 as a non-profit, volunteer run organization, has members ranging in age from 12 to over 70, racing motorcycles of many brands, sizes and ages. OMRRA operates at Portland International Raceway, a city park and world class track. For more information, visit www.omrra.com and join us at www.facebook.com/omrra.racing and @omrra.pdx on social media.
Progressive AFT Speeds into the Mission Foods Legendary Sacramento Mile powered by Law Tigers
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 10, 2023) – Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, shifts gears as it heads into the first of its majestic Miles with one of the sport’s iconic races, the Mission Foods Legendary Sacramento Mile powered by Law Tigers at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California, this Saturday, May 13.
This year’s edition is the 57th in the history of a race that has helped build the reputations of some of dirt track’s biggest-ever names, going all the way back to the very first Sacramento Mile won by four-time Grand National Champion Carroll Resweber in 1959.
Following four Short Tracks in the season’s opening six races, the season now transitions into a high-speed run of three consecutive Miles. Upon the 2023 schedule’s unveiling, the upcoming section of the campaign was immediately identified as key to the title defense of reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750).
Mees has developed into an absolute master of the strategic Mile discipline, racking up a bevy of race victories that helped pave the way for his acquisition of four additional championships since joining forces with Indian Motorcycle in 2017. The Sacramento Mile certainly played a role in that success, as Mees scored four consecutive victories in the race from 2018-2021.
Now facing an early 24-point deficit, another Cal Expo triumph this weekend would be most timely. However, to do so he’ll have to overcome the rider he’s currently chasing in the standings, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), who just so happened to win last year’s Sacramento Mile as a rookie.
Daniels is that much stronger in 2023 with a year of experience under his belt, building up his early advantage on the strength of three wins and three runner-ups.
Third-ranked JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) figures to be a factor as well. Beach demonstrated extraordinary speed on the Miles at times a year ago even if he was unable to parlay that pace into wins, largely due to poor luck. He’s driven to get that career-first Mile win, as it’s one of just two missing components in his ultimate ambition of collecting an “old school” Grand Slam of wins (ST, TT, HM, Mile, and Superbike).
Observers will also be keenly interested in the performance of Briar Bauman (No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 890 Duke). As expected, Bauman has been up-and-down as he adapts to, and develops, his new racebike. It’ll be fascinating to see how the machine performs when given a chance to run full-song around a big Mile racetrack.
The same is true of the factory Royal Enfields piloted by Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) and Ryan Wells (No. 94 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650). In its earliest, pre-premier class days, the bike avoided the Miles as the factory worked overtime to make up for an inherent horsepower disadvantage. However, the platform has come a long, long way from where it started. This will be the perfect opportunity to see exactly how it measures up against the best of the best on a Mile.
Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) headlines an accomplished group of highly competitive independent riders. The Pennsylvanian has had a tough opening third of the season, as he’s gotten beaten up by more than his share of falls already in 2023. The most recent came in the Ventura ST Main Event just days ago. And with precious little time to recover, the hope is that he’ll be ready to give it his all in Sacramento.
Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER
While the factory Red Bull KTMs and Turner Hondas have largely monopolized the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER headlines early this season, a different pairing is poised to steal back some attention this weekend.
Estenson Racing Yamaha’s Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) comes into the race with an active three-race win streak at the Sacramento Mile – a streak that transcends teams and manufacturers.
Meanwhile, no rider in the class has been as historically great at the high-profile event as the category’s all-time winningest rider, Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 450 SX-F), who boasts a grand tally of four Sacramento Mile wins (2012, 2013, 2017, and 2019).
Brunner has had his moments this season, and he’s been running consistently inside the top five. However, he’s still looking to recapture last season’s second-half form in which he racked up six podiums in seven races at one point, including a win in Sacramento.
Texter-Bauman, meanwhile, has flashed her trademark speed as she transitions back to the class. That said, she could definitely use a superior performance this weekend as a springboard for the rest of the year.
The usual suspects of title fighters – led by defending champ and points leader Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) and followed closely by Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F), Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), and Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) – will have their say of course.
This weekend also serves as something of a second chance for 1st Impressions Husqvarna’s Golden State duo of James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) and Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) to impress in front of their home state fans after struggling through something of a down outing at Ventura Raceway.
There will be plenty to keep fans entertained at the track on Saturday as well, including numerous vendors, plenty of food and beverage options, and motorcycle parking.
There are a wide variety of ticketing options to select from, starting with Adult General Admission Tickets, which are just $25 if purchased in advance.
Gates will open for fans at 5:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 9:45 p.m. ET (6:45 p.m. PT).
For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FansChoice.tv 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 https://www.fanschoice.tv.
FOX Sports coverage of the Legendary Sacramento Mile, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, May 27, at 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT).
Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, is the world’s premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on Progressive American Flat Track, please visit us on the web, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check us out on Instagram and catch all the Progressive American Flat Track racing action on FOX Sports.
Peter Hickman (60) competing on an FHO Racing BMW with carbon wheels at the 2022 North West 200. Photo courtesy FHO Racing.
FHO RACING BMW MOTORRAD WITHDRAWS FROM THE 2023 NORTH WEST 200
The FHO Racing BMW Motorrad team are withdrawing from the 2023 fonaCAB and Nicholl Oils North West 200 due to no confidence in the application of the Superstock technical regulations.
The Superstock class technical regulations mandate the machines must fully comply with conditions regarding the wheels, where Superstock machines must remain with the originally homologated wheels from the manufacturer, which from BMW are carbon. It then goes on to prohibit carbon material, however aftermarket wheels are also not allowed and no mandated alternative specification is prescribed.
The FHO Racing BMW M 1000 RR machines passed scrutineering on Tuesday (9 May) and were allowed to take part in all qualifying sessions before being informed they were not allowed to race moments before the Briggs Equipment Superstock race this evening.
Having taking this issue out with the fonaCAB and Nicholl Oils North West 200 organisers, there is no confidence that the FHO Racing riders could take part in a race with the obvious dangers, and risks that road racing prevents and then the performance protested or disqualified on a technicality that is not adequately explained.
The FHO Racing team have checked the 2023 technical regulations against those of 2022 and the regulations remain the same, where the team raced the carbon homologated wheels in both Superstock races, as well as the event in 2019.
The effort commitment and logistics required to compete in the North West 200 are significant and this lack of confidence in the organisation renders the team’s participation in this year’s event impossible.
The FHO Racing team would like to sincerely apologise to all its sponsors and fans, and the team are now looking forward to getting back out on the roads in a few weeks time at the Isle of Man TT Races.
More, from a statement issued by North West 200 organizers:
The technical regulations of the Motorcycle Union of Ireland (Ulster Centre), under which the fonaCAB and Nicholl Oils North West 200 is run, state that carbon wheels are not permitted for use at any MCUI road race event.
Those regulations, which are implemented by the MCUI Stewards of the Meeting, were approved by the sport’s governing body in January 2023 and published on the North West 200’s website at that stage.
The FHO Racing BMW team were informed by the MCUI’s Stewards after qualifying on Thursday afternoon that their riders, Peter Hickman and Josh Brookes, would be excluded from the Briggs Equipment Superstock race as their machines were fitted with carbon wheels.
The NW200 organisers were informed of the Steward’s decision, which is final and binding upon the event, at 21.30pm on Thursday night during the final Steward’s meeting.
No such action had been discussed with the NW200 organisers prior to this time despite the machines having been scrutineered on both Tuesday and Thursday morning.
We deeply regret the FHO Racing BMW team’s decision to withdraw from the event tonight as a result of this action, a sentiment we know will be shared by all NW200 race fans.
MotoGP riders (from left) Johann Zarco, Brad Binder, Francesco Bagnaia, and Fabio Quartararo at the first of two pre-event press conferences at Le Mans. Photo courtesy Dorna.
“I hope for a great show!”: Thursday talking points in France
Hear from Bagnaia, Binder, Zarco, Quartararo, Bezzecchi, Miller and Marc Marquez!
Thursday, 11 May 2023
Bienvenue au Mans ! This weekend we hit event 1000 in FIM Grand Prix World Championship history, and ahead of the Shark Grand Prix de France, there was plenty to talk about in the two pre-event Press Conferences.
The first comprised Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), before Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was joined by Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and the returning Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).
Here are some key quotes!
Do you see this a big opportunity to take control of championship?
FRANCESCO BAGNAIA: “We have to see for the conditions because it looks like it will not be consistent and looks like it will rain, but also today the forecast was saying it was raining but it was dry all day. So it will be quite difficult the conditions here.Is always difficult to understand quickly, so we have to wait, wait to understand everything. The potential of our bike is great, it’s high, and we can fight for the top positions, but we have to be careful and calm to understand everything because it’s quite easy to make mistakes like I did last year. So let’s see.”
Francesco Bagnaia. Photo courtesy Dorna.
So… what about KTM?
“Sincerely, seeing them in Portimao with Jack finishing well, he was at the front in the Sprint race. Then Argentina with Brad winning the Sprint race. So, I was prepared to see them at the front in the Sprint race because both of them were starting from the first two rows. So I was quite prepared for it, but I was not I was not prepared for the long race because they did, I think, an incredible job for sure and Dani had helped them to improve their situation but both Brad and Jack did an amazing job so I think so we can expect them at the front also here.”
On Valentino Rossi’s joke in Jerez that a bad start on Friday led to a great result in Jerez:
“Sincerely, I prefer to start like in Austin, but I don’t think I get distracted in the race. But in any case,we’re always having a lot of jokes with Vale and also at home we were speaking and I don’t think that was, like I said, for a distraction or anything else but was just what happened. In any case we can learn from our mistakes and we can understand we can learn so maybe I can improve from that situation. I was happy to see Vale back in the Ducati box so it was good!”
BRAD BINDER: “I’m excited to get started here. Two podiums last week gives me a lot of confidence and I’ve got a lot of faith in the machine beneath me. A few tracks this season haven’t been good for us in the past but somehow they’ve been much better so I expect to be stronger here then I have in previous seasons. The bike is working great and I’ve really good confidence with it. Le Mans is a track I enjoy but we’ve never just put a good weekend together and yeah, that’s priority number 1 on my list. I want to change that, try walk away here with a solid weekend overall. Let’s just keep our head down and keep fighting and see what we can do when it is time to perform.”
Brad Binder. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Are KTM a real challenger for the title now?
“I mean it is clear that we have been stronger than in previous seasons, no matter the tracks we’ve gone to. The team has done an unreal job to bring us this new machine that is way more competitive. It gives me so much more, like, clear, calm, peace of mind when you show up to a GP knowing that if you do a good job you can fight for wins and podiums whereas in the past it’s been ok if we could crack the top five, that’s the most we could get. It’s exciting for me yeah, I just really want to take things one race at a time and do my best on the day and bring home the most points as possible. It’s exciting, I’m looking forward to it and let’s see what tomorrow brings.
How much you looking forward to it?
JOHANN ZARCO: “Now I’ve had bit of experience with the French Grand Prix! After the tour in Le Mans, we were lucky to have the sun because with the MotoGP bike in the street, I think it’s better to get some sun. It’s a track I like and I hope I will fight for the best positions in both races, Sprint and the long race on Sunday. Clearly from Jerez I tried to get a bit more competitive in both races and I was pretty close to the top guys. Unfortunately I didn’t get the results because the performance was I think quite good to be close to the podium, and hear it’s a track where I’ve had much better result than in Jerez the other years, so we should think about a good weekend, even with the tricky conditions that we can have. I’m not sure if it is going to rain or it going to be dry, but I know that I can adapt quite quickly to this and maybe I can find an advantage in this situation.”
Johann Zarco. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Did you find anything at test?
“I hope yes. The good thing at the Monday test in Jerez was that we didn’t have anything we needed to test on the bike for Ducati, so we could play much more with Massimo with the set up and get more feedback. Then I guess now we have our base and then we can maybe work more on the details and maybe in France now with the tricky condition we won’t have time to really play with the details, but at least we have a good base where I know I can perform on it and this can help to get the last step for the podium!”
FABIO QUARTARARO: “I hope for a great show from tomorrow! And even this afternoon I’m gonna give my best. It’s not a normal GP, it’s different and we have only one in France so hopefully it’ll be a turning point for us this weekend and make the fans happy.”
“We tried a few things in the Jerez Test but not all of them were good. We’ll try the chassis again this weekend and see how it works. Especially for the time attacks in Jerez, we changed the base of the bike a little because form the beginning of the year we can’t find a bike where I am 100% confident on it. We will try something again this weekend with the base we did at the Test that in the time attack we made a small step.”
Fabio Quartararo. Photo courtesy Dorna.
What are the benefits of the chassis you tried?
“I like it. The benefit we don’t really know. It’s not clearly better, but not worse. We want to see on another track to see the feeling because trying only in Jerez can maybe be a mistake so we will try the standard chassis and the new one tomorrow.”
Was it important to get he feeling back at the test?
MARCO BEZZECCHI: “Yeah, as you said in Jerez it was a difficult weekend for me. Overall in the test, I had a good feeling, but at the end is not really important because it’s Monday, so it was better to have this feeling on Sunday and Saturday. Anyway, I can’t complain about how the test went. We found something interesting on the bike and especially I worked in practice starts which is my weak point for the moment. So yeah, can’t complain about about how it was and now I’m thinking about this race weekend Mark are looking ahead to this week.”
Marco Bezzecchi. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Do you like Le Mans?
“Yeah, it’s a track that I really like. Last year I was not too bad in race, I had a good race pace, but unfortunately I was starting not on the front, and then also my start was not very good, as always. But yeah, it’s a track that I like. I’m really charged for this weekend and yeah, I can’t wait.!”
Why no moustache?
“It’s here but it’s very short because I had to trim it up a little bit, because it was too much for me! I don’t like myself looking so much like Jack, but I will keep it until the best is done.”
JACK MILLER: “Le Mans is a place I really enjoy. I say it every year, even though it tried to kill me once upon a time, it’s still one of my favourite tracks on the calendar. Even in 2020 I was there fighting with Danilo and Dovi for the win until my bike expired. But no it’s a place I’ve been really, really fast at throughout my whole career. And you know, it’s a strange one with the weather. It’s definitely one of the ones that I look forward to coming to, and I think it’s a track to that can suit our bike. You know the bike as we showed in Jerez was really good at stopping and then also getting into tight corners which you kind of need here. I’m looking forward to this weekend.”
Jack Miller. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Stop and go strengths will be key?
“Definitely, between that and also the let’s say the weight of it, the way that the bike changes direction. Le Mans is kind of a track where you need to stop-go part of it. But then also you need to be able to get the timing right, especially in turns 3 and 4. And then also over the back after the back straight, with the chicanes is where you kind of need to get the timing right and the bike needs to react in the right way, so I feel like we’ve got that with this bike and you know as you said week by week gotten better and better and the bike’s gotten more and more comfortable with it. We were able to push with it in Texas, obviously until I crashed, and then to back that up with another challenge the following weekend in Jerez and to come away from that with a couple of podiums and to show at least a little bit of our speed, I think we come here in pretty good condition.”
Why are the KTMs so good off the line?
“I wouldn’t tell you that because then everyone knows, but I mean, I’ve had good starts my whole Grand Prix career. On the Ducati, everybody said it was the Ducati launch device but now it seems like the Ducati launch devices are complaining and the KTM ones are the best ones. I mean, Brad and I both were getting off the line pretty well in Jerez. I mean, we had a good chance to show it with four starts over the weekend, but fingers crossed, no red flags this weekend and we only have to do two of those.”
Do you expect to come straight back to the level?
MARC MARQUEZ: “Yeah really happy to come back, but I can’t expect a lot about this weekend. It’s true it’s been a month and a half without riding any type of bike, so step by step I will try to get back in the rhythm, the target for this weekend is to get that rhythm again of a MotoGP bike and then the next three weeks start to rebuild my physical condition. As you know I had a hand injury so it was hard to push in the gym and to keep the same physical condition as Portimao, but we’ll also try to work for the team, for Honda, I missed the test in Jerez which is one of the most important tests on the calendar. So we will try to test the things here. Unfortunately for us, the weather conditions here look a bit tricky but we will try to do our best and try to finish the weekend in a good way.”
Marc Marquez. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Mentally how difficult was it to sit out injured again?
“It’s true I worked really good, the last winter was the first without injuries and I was able to prepare for the first race really well, and I felt really good. We were struggling during the test and we were struggling during the weekend but when it’s the moment we arrived, in the Sprint and qualifying, even in the race I felt strong for the two laps, but yeah, unlucky for us the hammer was there again and I get another injury. Anyway I keep pushing, mentally I’m prepared, when you have these kind of things it’s difficult to keep motivated but the most important is to keep your routine and try to come back as soon as possible, which I did. Now step by step to be on the rhythm again and have a good pace.”
Thoughts on the penalty…
“Yeah, for me it’s normal. When I receive the penalty the rules were – now they’ve changed – but when I received the penalty, when I went to the Stewards I completely agreed to receive that because it was a big mistake. On the paper and when we spoke it was for the Argentina GP, then after two days somebody changed it. I don’t know who, but somebody changed it, it’s not my fault. So yeah, now it looks like it will change for the future, I don’t think that’s the best solution. Changing that rule will create some things that for the riders, we’ll take more risk. For me it was easy for me to come back in Jerez, take the penalty and stop in the box. These things we need to avoid, so I think they need to think about another strategy.”
Alastair Seeley on his Powertoolmate Ducati Panigale V2 in Northern Ireland. Photo by Pacemaker Press International, courtesy NW200 Press Office.
Alastair Seeley, riding his Milwaukee Tools BMW M 1000 RR, earned pole position with a time of 4:20.634 around the 8.97-mile Triangle Circuit in Northern Ireland on Thursday. That equates to an average speed of 123.898 mph.
American Patricia Fernandez-West, riding for JMcC Roofing Racing, qualified 48th in Superbike with a time of 5:03.143 (106.524 mph) on a Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Seeley, riding his Powertoolmate Ducati Panigale V2, also claimed pole position in Supersport with a lap time of 4:36.589 and an average speed of 116.751 mph. Fernandez-West qualified 42nd in Supersport with a time of 5:17.180 (101.810 mph) on a Yamaha YZF-R6.
Seeley, riding his SYNETIC BMW M 1000 RR, also took pole position in Superstock with a lap at 4:21.769 and an average speed of 123.361 mph. Fernandez-West earned the 41st spot on the Superstock grid with a time of 5:01.714 (107.029 mph) on her Kawasaki ZX-10R.
Richard Cooper, riding his KMR Kawasaki ER6 (a.k.a. Ninja 650), captured the Supertwins pole position with a time of 4:49.037 and an average speed of 111.723 mph. American Cory West, a North West 200 rookie and Fernandez-West’s husband, qualified 18th at 5:19.386 (101.106 mph) on a JMcC Roofing Racing Kawasaki ER6.
The first round of races takes place Thursday evening.
Editorial Note: The current All-Time World Superbike Lap Record at Misano is 1:33.328, which was set by Alvaro Bautista on his Ducati in 2022.
FIM Superbike World Championship Test
Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli, San Marino
May 11, 2023
Unofficial Test Times (all using Pirelli tires):
Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Duc), 1:33.035
Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Yam), 1:33.545
Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Duc), 1:33.708
Xavi Vierge, Spain (Hon), 1:34.043
Garrett Gerloff, USA (BMW), 1:34.345
Axel Bassani, Italy (Duc), 1:34.385
Tom Sykes, UK (BMW), 1:34.416
Iker Lecuona, Spain (Hon), 1:34.602
Scott Redding, UK (BMW), 1:34.637
Philipp Oettl, Germany (Duc), 1:34.729
Lorenzo Baldassarri, Italy (Yam), 1:34.789
Andrea Locatelli, Italy (Yam), 1:34.800
Dominique Aegerter, Switzerland (Yam), 1:34.807
Remy Gardner, Australia (Yam), 1:34.853
Lucas Mahias, France (Kaw), 1:35.426
Loris Baz, France (BMW), 1:35.543
Nicolo Bulega, Italy (Duc), 1:37.010*
Tarran Mackenzie, UK (Hon), 1:37.606
*World Supersport rider
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Misano hosts two-day WorldSBK Supported Test, Bautista fastest on Day 1
Just a few days after Round 4 at Barcelona, WorldSBK is already back testing at Misano as the 2023 grid gets ready for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round
Championship leader Alvaro Bautista topped the timesheet at the end of day one. The Ducati rider completed 87 laps over the day. He was on a lap record pace setting a fastest lap of 1’33.035s, 0.510s quicker than Razgatlioglu.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (54). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Toprak Razgatlioglu was the second fastest rider with a best time of 1’33.545s. He is the rider who completed more laps on Thursday with 92 laps.
Michael Rinaldi (21). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Having completed 90 laps over the day, Ducati’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi was third overall, 0.673s behind his teammate.
Xavi Vierge (97). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Xavi Vierge was the lead Honda rider in fourth with a fastest time of 1’34.043s. Teammate Iker Lecuona ended the day in eighth place.
Garrett Gerloff (31). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Garrett Gerloff was fifth for BMW, 1.310s off Bautista’s best time.
Tom Sykes (66). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Stepping in to replace injured Michael van der Mark for BMW, Tom Sykes was seventh.
Tarran Mackenzie (95). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Tarran Mackenzie tested for the PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team, making his return to WorldSBK.
WorldSBK Day 1 Report
The first of two days of testing for the majority of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field concluded with rain interrupting the final part of the day at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was under lap record pace in the morning as he used Pirelli’s SCQ tyre to edge closer to the 1’32s bracket, with Bautista finishing ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) whose day was disrupted by a Turn 3 crash in the morning session.
Reigning Champion Bautista led the way on Day 1 as he set a lap time faster than the existing all-time lap record after posting a 1’33.035s in the closing stages of the morning session while using Pirelli’s SCQ tyre, with his time around three tenths faster than his own lap record set in last year’s Tissot Superpole session. Bautista’s opening day, where he completed 87 laps including 64 in the morning, was spent working on the bike with new their rpm limit as well as looking ahead to the Emilia-Romagna Round. Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi took third spot on Day 1, 0.673s behind his teammate, as he worked on a setup comparison using setups from Mandalika and Barcelona as he completed 90 laps.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) took second spot after posting a 1’33.545s in the morning session on the SCX tyre, around half-a-second down on Bautista. Razgatlioglu had a small crash at Turn 3 in the morning on old tyres, but returned to the pits on his bike, while he had a focus on swingarms and linkage that had already been tested before but with modifications. He completed 92 laps on Day 1.
The Misano test is an important one for Team HRC with riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge testing two variations of a new swingarm in order to test the direction. Vierge was the fastest rider on Day 1 out of the two after he completed 87 laps and took fourth place with a 1’34.043s, when he used the SCQ tyre, while Lecuona completed 65 laps. His best time was a 1’34.602s to put him in eighth place, ensuring both Hondas finished in the top ten.
The headline at BMW was the return of Tom Sykes (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to BMW to temporarily replace BMW. His programme did not involve new parts but running the bike he finished the 2021 campaign with to compare it to the 2023 machine. Sykes was seventh at the end of the day after setting a 1’34.416s and completing 61 laps.
Race officials are trying to crack down on irresponsible riding in the Supersport300 World Championship class. Photo courtesy Dorna.
FIRST PERSON/OPINION:
By Michael Gougis
It was something rare, if not unprecedented, in International-level professional motorcycle racing. In retrospect, however, it’s remarkable that it took so long to happen.
At the Catalunya round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, race officials red-flagged the Supersport300 Superpole session for irresponsible riding and called all of the riders to an impromptu meeting in pit lane, where FIM representative Antonio Lima absolutely chewed out the entire field.
“If you don’t want to race, easy. Go home,” Lima said. “What we have seen this morning is a shame. Don’t play with safety. Next time you go to the track and you do this again, I stop the practice again. This is a World Championship. This is not a playground for kids. If you are not adult enough to be here, stay at home. If it is necessary, I stop the race. If it is necessary, I cancel the race. Go to the track and race like riders, not like stupid kids.”
The frustration of trying to rein in dangerous riding in this class has been boiling over for some time. But there are pressures in this class, at this level, that make it extremely difficult for riders to not engage in risky behavior.
What happened at Catalunya? When the Superpole practice started, nearly all of the riders went out on the track and began cruising around slowly, waiting to find the right pack to follow. After three minutes and 11 seconds of this, race officials had had enough and halted proceedings on the spot.
The Supersport300 class has been under more scrutiny since Dean Berta Vinales–cousin of MotoGP racer Maverick Vinales–died in a multi-bike accident in Jerez in 2021 and Victor Steeman died in a similar incident in Portugal in 2022.
Aboard small-displacement, close-to-stock motorcycles, Supersport300 riders tend to circulate the track in large packs during races and rely heavily on drafting during qualifying. At Catalunya, 10 laps into the first race, the first 18 riders were separated by 2.069 seconds. The large, closely-spaced packs have led to problems because if a rider crashes, the following racers have little or no chance to react before hitting the downed rider or bike. Their behavior is much the same in qualifying, with similar risks. And timing the draft, or waiting around for a pack of bikes to tow you around, becomes as or more important than raw speed.
But as Maverick Vinales and others have pointed out, this kind of pack behavior is almost a requirement for racers in the class. With very limited horsepower, light weight, sticky slicks, and extremely limited modifications, more riders can get the absolute best out of these bikes. With the machines so equally matched, no one can get away at the front. And drafting is critical. In Race One at Catalunya, the first nine riders crossed the finish line within a second. And the rider in the back of the pack gets a massive draft from those in front, making it even more difficult for the leaders and faster riders to break away.
It’s also worth noting who is racing in the Supersport300 class. Yes, it’s inexpensive in terms of racing in a World Championship. But it’s not cheap. And few, if any, of these riders are earning career-worthy salaries. At this point on the ladder, there’s a good chance that these riders are kids, bringing sponsorship or cash to the teams in exchange for a ride in the hopes of doing well here and climbing the professional racing ladder, where a fat paycheck might be found.
Do poorly in Supersport300, and a lot of other people’s money goes down the drain as your career sinks like a stone. The pressure to perform is immense, it is laid squarely on the shoulders of very young adults, and the price for riding irresponsibly is relatively small–generally a grid penalty.
In their place, what would you do? Maybe exactly what many of these riders are doing–waiting for a draft that can give them a critical edge in qualifying. At worst, they feel, if they try it and get penalized, they’re no worse off–they’ll just wind up back where they would have qualified had they tried for a hot lap on their own.
Increasingly harsh penalties have not worked. Perhaps the series organizers could consider making changes in the way qualifying works. Send the fastest 12 or 15 riders from the practice sessions to a final Superpole session. The longer practice sessions would remove the pressure to hang around immediately after leaving the pits to find the right drafting partner. The riders would have more than an hour, with both sessions counted, to put in a fast lap. Then, for the final Superpole session, have the riders go out in reverse order of their fastest practice lap, one at a time. No drafting, no packs, just pure skill. And it will give the faster riders a better chance at making a break at the start of a race.
It might not be the perfect solution. But it will work better than the system in place now. And no one wants to be standing on the grid for a moment of silence on Sunday because a 15-year-old died in a race accident on Saturday. No one wants to be standing next to a fellow journalist who wants to know how he’s supposed to behave, what he’s supposed to do, because he’s never been on the scene of a racing fatality in the past. And if that sounds specific, I spent Sunday morning at that race in Jerez in 2021 doing exactly that, comforting another member of the press corps who had come face-to-face with the worst part of the sport for the first time.
Chewing out the riders and red-flagging the session is one reaction. But wouldn’t it be better to create structural changes that will enhance safety and at the same time reward the riders with more speed and skill?
BMW's new R 12 nineT. Photo courtesy BMW Motorrad.
The New BMW R 12 nineT Teaser
Successor to the BMW R nineT
Pricing and specifications to be announced in the 2nd half of 2023
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – May 11, 2023 . . . BMW Motorrad is proud to present the new BMW R 12 nineT in celebration of “100 Years of BMW Motorrad” and, exactly ten years after the launch of the original R nineT.
Like the BMW R nineT, introduced in 2013, the new BMW R 12 nineT is a pure, powerful, classic roadster which offers a wealth of conceptual options for almost unlimited customizing and personal individualization.
Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad: “The R nineT and its customizing concept established the new Heritage experience for BMW Motorrad’s 90th birthday and has become an indispensable cornerstone of our model range. The new R 12 nineT continues the successful heritage story surrounding the legendary BMW boxer engines with an even more classic, reduced design language, even greater degrees of freedom when it comes to customizing and, last but not least, new and innovative technology.”
1200 Boxer motor with redesigned intake and exhaust systems
100 years ago, the very first BMW motorcycle – the R 32 – arrived, powered by an air/oil-cooled flat-twin engine. The boxer’s unmistakable design, powerful acceleration, unique power delivery, hallmark sound and smooth running quickly made it a legendary synonym for BMW motorcycles. With its air/oil-cooled boxer engine, the new R 12 nineT continues this great tradition. The number 12 has been added to reflect the model’s engine capacity, as done in other BMW motorcycle models.
Classic, Purist Design
Even more than its predecessor, the new R 12 nineT combines the strong visible character of the boxer engine, a classic design language of motorcycle eras past, innovative technology and a modular concept that offers the rider a maximum of customization options. Reduced even more to the essentials, it delivers high emotional appeal.
Edgar Heinrich, Head of Design BMW Motorrad: “The purist design language is dominated by the clear tank/seat/rear line, in the style of the traditional /5 or the legendary R 90 S of the 70s. At first glance, the tank itself is a classic BMW boxer tank, with a typical bend in the lower edge and classic knee contact. The new R 12 NineT also features side covers in the area of the frame triangle in the authentic Roadster look – another reminiscence of BMW motorcycles of the 1970s.”
Particular attention to detail is evident in the redesigned front fender, the LED headlamp design and the two round instruments gauges. As is tradition, attractive customization options are offered as part of the original BMW Motorrad accessory range. With customizing in mind, the new R 12 nineT features an LED taillight unit integrated into the seat for a “short tail” appearance.
The highlights of the new BMW R 12 nineT:
Classic, purist design.
Workmanship with great attention to detail.
Air/oil-cooled 2-cylinder boxer engine.
Designed for customizing.
One-piece tubular space frame with bolted-on rear frame.
High-quality upside-down telescopic forks at the front and Paralever at the rear.
Left-side exhaust system with double muffler and conical end pieces.
Tailor-made, high-quality original BMW Motorrad accessory range.
BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles as well as the BMW XM. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 146 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – May 11, 2023 . . . BMW Motorrad is proud to announce the newest and fifth member of the Heritage line R 18 family, the BMW R 18 Roctane. The R 18 Roctane joins the R 18, R 18 Classic, R 18 B and R 18 Transcontinental.
The R 18 borrows styling cues from past models, such as the 1936 BMW R 5, where the iconic air-oil cooled boxer motor is the epicenter of the purist, “streamliner” design. Modern technology discretely supports the R 18 Roctane in delivering an emotional riding experience, from the first start of the engine to wherever your heart and the front wheel may guide you, near or far.
Unique R 18 Roctane features
Mid-rise handlebars
Instrument cluster integrated into the headlight housing
Painted hard side cases with integrated turn signals.
Blacked-out engine and drivetrain
Dark Chrome exhaust system
21-inch front and 18-inch rear alloy wheels.
Design
The new BMW R 18 Roctane is a cruiser, a bagger and everything in between. The larger 21-inch front wheel, combined with the 18-inch rear wheel and the mid-rise handlebars give the new R 18 model a more purposeful look.
Taking design cues from air/oil-cooled BMW boxer models of decades past, design features such as the engine acting as center piece, the double-loop frame, the exposed drive shaft and the rigid-style rear all combine to deliver the tapered streamliner design language intended by BMW Motorrad.
Starting from the steering head, the frame spine and rear swing arm top frame tubes visually form a continuous line. In conjunction with the swing arm’s lower beam tubes, which are aligned with the frame down tubes, this flowing line gives the new R 18 Roctane a muscular appearance.
Attention to the smallest details can be seen throughout the R 18 Roctane. The classic body parts of the R 18 Roctane are made of metal. The 4.2-gallon fuel tank’s teardrop shape is derived from the R 5, as are the design of the front and rear fenders, the fork covers and the headlight housing. All, also made of steel.
The flawless paint finishes that have been featured on all R 18 models are found on the new R 18 Roctane. Black Storm Metallic is standard while Mineral Grey Metallic Matte and Manhattan Metallic Matte finishes are available as optional colors. These matte paint finishes contrast with the high-gloss black chassis and ensure a classically modern look.
Painted Hard Cases
The new R 18 Roctane is equipped for cruising and touring thanks to body-color painted cases with integrated LED taillights. The cases offer 27 liters of luggage space each and can be equipped with optional removable liners. The “filler stripes” that cover the space between the cases and the bike can be selected from the available accessories. The original BMW Motorrad Accessories range also offers soft luggage options such as the rear bag or frame bag made of waxed canvas with genuine leather trim.
A rear view of a BMW R18 Roctane. Photo courtesy BMW Motorrad.
Headlight with Instrument Cluster
Inspired by the legendary 1936 BMW R 5, and from then, on almost all BMW motorcycles until the early 1970s, the R 18 Roctane’s round instrument cluster is integrated into the metal LED headlight housing to give a unique and classic look. The “BERLIN BUILT” lettering on the instrument dial is a reference to the bike’s origin and for all its classic looks, the instrument cluster delivers all the important information such as engine rpm, gear indicator, status inquiry and trip computer details.
heart of the new BMW R 18 Roctane is the 1,802-cc boxer engine. This motor carries on the tradition of motorcycles from Munich and Berlin-Spandau from the very beginning of BMW Motorrad production in 1923.
The engine output remains unchanged; 91 hp at 4,750 rpm and a maximum torque of 116 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm, with more than 110 lb-ft. available between 2,000 to 4,000 rpm. The maximum engine speed is 5,750 rpm.
The air/oil cooled motor features a vertically split aluminum engine and weighs a combined 244 lbs. with the transmission.
In contrast to the classic air-cooled two-valve boxer engines from BMW Motorrad, the forged crankshaft of the R 18 motor, has an additional center main bearing, which became necessary, due to the large cylinder volume, to prevent undesirable bending vibrations of the crankshaft.
Forged connecting rods, cast aluminum pistons, cylinder walls coated with NiCaSil and a wet sump lubrication system with a two-stage oil pump driven by the crankshaft via a sleeve chain are additional features of the largest BMW boxer motor ever installed in a production motorcycle.
When developing the valve drive for the R 18 boxer motor, BMW Motorrad engineers were inspired by a very special engine design from history – the 2-cylinder boxer of the 1936 – 1941 R 5 / R 51 and the 1950 – 1951 R 51/2, the latter having been the first BMW motorcycle with a boxer engine after the Second World War.
The twin camshaft design allows for shorter pushrods. This arrangement reduces the moving masses, decreases deflection and minimizes the linear expansion of the push rods. The two intake and exhaust valves in the cylinder head are actuated in pairs via fork rocker arms. Valve clearances can be changed by means of one adjusting screw with lock nut per valve, making valve clearance adjustments quicker and easier.
Transmission and Shaft Drive
The constant-mesh, 6-speed gearbox, is located in a two-part aluminum housing and features a four-shaft transmission with helical gear pairs. The transmission input shaft with cleat damper, drives the two transmission shafts with the gear wheel pairs via a countershaft. Reverse gear, driven by an intermediate gear and an electric motor, is available as an option.
A single-plate, dry, self-reinforcing anti-hopping clutch eliminates undesired rear wheel hop which may be caused by engine drag torque during hard down shifts.
As in all BMW motorcycles with boxer engines, torque is transmitted from the gearbox to the rear wheel via a driveshaft or Cardan shaft drive. The open, nickel-plated drive shaft and universal joint are examples of classic motorcycle technology commonly used on BMW Motorrad models up to and including model year 1955. A so-called tripoid joint is installed on the gearbox side for the purpose of length compensation.
Chassis
The chassis in the new R 18 Roctane is the same double-loop steel tube frame used in the R 18 and R 18 Classic. The high manufacturing quality and attention to detail is evident in barely perceptible details such in the steering head struts as well as in the welded joints between steel tubes and cast or forged parts. Some of the tube joints in the steering head area are cut at an angle, which makes the connection look particularly pleasing to the eye.
The rear steel swing arm is made of steel tubes and cast or forged parts and combined with the central cantilever shock, is designed to give the look of the rigid frame used in the original BMW R 5. As a result, the rigid-frame style layout also provides the so-called flyline, from front to rear, of the overall R 18 design.
The suspension elements of the new R 18 Roctane, also reflect the classic design. Electronic adjustment options have been deliberately omitted. Instead, telescopic forks and a central shock with travel-dependent damping and adjustable spring preload ensure superior wheel guidance and suspension control and comfort. As in the legendary BMW R 5, the fork tubes are encased in fork sleeves. The fixed fork tube diameter is 49 mm, while suspension travel is 4.7-inches at the front and 3.5-inches at the rear, same as on the R 18.
Controls and Ergonomics
The new BMW R 18 Roctane features mid-mounted controls, a long-standing BMW Motorrad philosophy of rider positioning. This classic position behind the cylinders is not only typical of BMW, but it also allows for a relaxed and active riding position for optimally controlling the motorcycle. The R 18 Roctane features a slim two-level seat that tapers towards the rear, with rear passenger straps, and is equipped with running boards in conjunction with a heel-toe gearshift controls. The mid-rise, black-coated handlebars and the comfortably low 28.3-inch seat height (27.3-inches for the R 18) ensure an upright and relaxed riding posture.
Wheels, Tires and Brakes
The new BMW R 18 Roctane features twin 300 mm front disc brakes with four-piston fixed calipers and a 300 mm single-disk rear brake. BMW Motorrad Integral ABS (partially integral) is standard. On this brake system, the hand brake lever activates the front and rear brakes together. The foot brake lever only acts on the rear brake. BMW Motorrad Integral ABS adjusts the brake force distribution between the front and rear brakes during braking based on the dynamic wheel load distribution.
The R 18 Roctane’s cast alloy wheels have a very distinctive look, greater wheel diameters at the front and rear compared to the R 18. The 3.5 x 21” front wheel (3.5 x 19-inches on the R 18) is equipped with a 120/70 B21 tire (120/70 R19 on the R 18), while a 180/55 B18 tire (180/65 B16 on the R 18) is used on the 5.5 x 18″ rear wheel (5.0 x 16-inches on the R 18). The 21-inch front wheel extends the castor significantly (7.3-inches in the R 18 Roctane vs. 5.9-inches for the R 18), improving straight-line stability.
Adaptive Headlight
The optional adaptive headlight, which is unique in this class, works by activating separate LED elements in the main headlight, which each have their own reflectors, depending on the lean angle. The function is used to compensate for the lean angle in relation to the cut-off of the low beam. The signal of the lean angle sensor is read, and the adaptive headlight is switched on. The function is activated when the engine is running, the low beam or high beam is activated, darkness is detected, and the motorcycle is moving at a speed above 6 mph and at a lean angle approximately between 7° and 25°. This significantly improves the illumination of the inside of the curve – a big safety plus when riding at night or in other situations with poor lighting conditions.
Available Reverse Assist and Hill Start Control plus standard Cruise Control.
The new R 18 Roctane can be equipped with optional Reverse Assist and Hill Start Control. Reverse Assist can be activated via the selector lever when needed. Reverse is then initiated by pressing on the starter button. Hill Start Control makes it particularly easy to start off on an incline. It is activated by briefly operating the hand or foot brake lever. Optional heated grips will keep your hands warm on cold days. The R 18 Roctane is equipped with standard cruise control.
Riding Modes and Safety Systems
The BMW R 18 Roctane is equipped with standard keyless start and Riding Modes. Keyless Ride allows the rider to keep the key safely in the pocket.
The new R 18 Roctane features the same three riding modes R 18 riders are familiar with: “Rain”, “Roll” and “Rock”. ASC (Automatic Stability Control, disengageable) and Engine Drag Control are also standard and ensures a high level of riding safety.
In “Rain” mode, throttle response is gentler, and the control characteristics of ASC and engine drag control allow for a more slippery road surface to achieve a very high level of riding safety.
In “Road” mode, the engine offers optimum throttle response, while ASC and engine drag control are set to achieve ideal performance on all roads.
The “Rock” riding mode allows the rider to explore the full dynamic potential of the new R 18 Roctane. Throttle response is very spontaneous and direct, and ASC allows a little more slip.
In each riding mode, the optimum interaction of throttle response, ASC control and engine drag torque control is provided. This means that the three riding modes offer optimum adjustment options – both, with regard to road conditions (Rain mode), and the rider’s personal ride experience (Rock mode).
The standard, electronically controlled, Engine Drag Control prevents the rear wheel from slipping because of abrupt throttle changes or downshifting. An anti-hopping clutch is opened from a mechanically preset threshold to prevent the rear wheel from hopping – for example when down shifting. However, if the tire’s available grip is below this opening threshold, for example in wet conditions, the rear wheel could still exceed the traction limit due to the engine drag torque and simultaneous activation of the rear wheel brake and then slip. Thanks to engine drag control, the new R 18 Roctane detects this danger at an early stage. Depending on the coefficient of friction between the tire and the road surface, the throttle valves are opened in milliseconds, in such a way that the drag torque is reduced, and the rear wheel remains within its traction range. This results in further enhanced safety, especially on slippery roads.
Colors
Black Storm Metallic
Mineral Gray Metallic Matte
Manhattan Metallic Matte
Standard Equipment
2-cylinder 1,802 cc air/oil-cooled Boxer motor 91 hp and 116 lb-ft of torque
6-speed helical toothed gearbox
Stainless steel exhaust system
Anti-hopping single-disk, dry clutch
Nickel-plated exposed shaft drive
Mid-rise handlebar
21-inch front and 18-inch rear cast aluminum wheels
Automatic stability control
BMW Motorrad Integral ABS (partially integral)
300 mm twin-disk front and 300 mm single-disk rear brakes
Dynamic Brake Control
Steering Stabilizer
49mm Telescopic forks with fork covers
12v power socket
Instrument cluster integrated into headlight housing
The R 18 Roctane features a wide selection of BMW Motorrad and BMW Option 719 accessories, including:
Exhaust systems
Engine, cylinder head cover and are intake runner covers
Wheels
Mirrors
Front fenders
Expansion tank, fuel filler and fork covers
Hand control levers
Solo seats, passenger seats and back rests
Windshields
Tank bags
Luggage rack
Rear bag
Mobile phone bag
Technical specifications.
R 18 Roctane
Engine
Capacity
cc/cu. in.
1,802 / 110
Bore x stroke
mm
107.1 x 100
Output
hp
91 @ 4,750 rpm
Torque
lb-ft.
116 @ 3,000 rpm
Type
Air/oil-cooled 2-cylinder 4-stroke boxer
No. of cylinders
2
Compression / fuel
9.6:1 / premium unleaded
Valve / accelerator actuation
OHV / 4-valves per cylinder
Ø intake/exhaust valve dia.
mm
41.2 / 35.0
Ø throttle body dia.
mm
48
Engine control
BMS-O
Emission control
Closed-loop 3-way catalytic converter, EU5
Electrical system
Alternator
W
600
Battery
V/Ah
12/26 maintenance-free
Headlight
LED low and high beam
Starter
kW
1.5
Transmission
Clutch
Hydraulically activated single-plate dry clutch
Gearbox
Constant-mesh 6-speed gearbox
Primary ratio
1.16
Transmission ratios I
2.438
II
1.696
III
1.296
IV
1.065
V
0.903
VI
0.784
Rear wheel drive
Universal shaft
Transmission ratio
3.091
Suspension
Frame construction type
Steel double-loop tube frame
Front suspension
Fixed telescopic fork, 49 mm
Rear suspension
Cantilever
Suspension travel front/rear
in.
4.7 / 3.5
Wheel castor
in.
7.3
Wheelbase
in.
67.7
Steering head angle
°
55.3
Brakes
front
Twin disc brake Ø 300 mm
rear
Single-disc brake Ø 300 mm
ABS
BMW Motorrad Partially Integral ABS
Wheels
Light alloy cast wheels
front
3.5 x 21″
rear
5.5 x 18”
Tires
Front
120/70 B 21
Rear
180/55 B 18
Dimensions and weights
Total length
in.
103.0
Total width with mirrors
in.
37.5
Seat height
in.
28.3
DIN unladen weight
lbs.
825
Permitted total weight
lbs.
1,234
Fuel tank capacity
gal.
4.2
Performance figures
0-62 mph
sec.
5.46
Top speed
mph
111
BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles as well as the BMW XM. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 146 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Andy DiBrino (62). Photo by Louis Stevenson/StevensonFoto.com, courtesy OMRRA.
The Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association (OMRRA) teamed up with the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) to open the 2023 season of racing in the Pacific Northwest. Rain loomed in the forecast all weekend, but racers and fans in attendance were treated to nearly perfect track conditions and sunshine all weekend long. The first race weekend of the year is almost like the first day of school, with racers showing off their new machines, livery, and leathers. There are also the “new kids,” of which OMRRA welcomed 12 to ranks as new Novice racers. Some racers even pulled straight-As with wins in all of their core race classes.
In the Money Well Lending Title Championship, local star Andy DiBrino took a weekend off from preparing an MV Agusta F3 RR for competition in MotoAmerica’s Supersport class to dust off his EDR-tuned Kawasaki ZX-10R and take wins in Formula Ultra, Open Supersport, and Open Superbike. Hot on his tail was the #1 bike of Kevin Pinkstaff on a Kawasaki ZX-10R prepared by Zlock Racing. David Kohlstaedt also showed impressive performance in these classes on a new-to-him BMW S 1000 RR.
OMRRA’s Clubman Championship, sponsored by MotoCorsa, pits “the rest of the club” against each other in the hunt for the #1c plate. The star of the Ultra Lightweight races was Austin McCabe on his Gray Area Racing KTM RC 390, followed closely by three other RC 390s from the same Eugene, Oregon-based builder Gray Area Racing. McCabe currently leads the Clubman Championship.
Fans were treated to another orange surprise with 2022 Northern Talent Cup winner and MotoAmerica Junior Cup racer Rossi Moor showing up to race at Portland International Raceway for his first time, piloting his 2018 KTM RC 390 R.
In the Middleweight races, Hannah Johnson, Nathan Aldrich, Adam Faussett, Joe Rocha, and Oliver Jervis were all race winners and all on different machinery. The Middleweight classes pit the widest variety of machines against each other, but made for the closest racing all weekend. The 600 races saw former champion Joe Pittman return with a new Kawasaki ZX-6R to take 4/4 race wins. Pittman was followed closely by Brian and Kinzer Naylor and Andy DiBrino riding a naked KTM 890 Duke R.
In the Lightweight Supersport class, Adam Faussett set a new PIR lap record of 1:18.807 aboard his Tiger Tail Racing 2023 Kawasaki Ninja 400.
Tim O’Mahony, Matthew Winter, and Ryan Shanahan are sitting in the top spots of the Langlitz Leathers Vintage Championship.
OMRRA’s next event takes place at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon, June 9-11, 2023. A second June event follows the week after at Ridge Motorsports Park, in Shelton Washington, June 16-18, 2023.
OMRRA, incorporated in 1972 as a non-profit, volunteer run organization, has members ranging in age from 12 to over 70, racing motorcycles of many brands, sizes and ages. OMRRA operates at Portland International Raceway, a city park and world class track. For more information, visit www.omrra.com and join us at www.facebook.com/omrra.racing and @omrra.pdx on social media.
The one-mile track at the Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. Photo by Tim Lester, courtesy AFT.
Progressive AFT Speeds into the Mission Foods Legendary Sacramento Mile powered by Law Tigers
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 10, 2023) – Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, shifts gears as it heads into the first of its majestic Miles with one of the sport’s iconic races, the Mission Foods Legendary Sacramento Mile powered by Law Tigers at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California, this Saturday, May 13.
This year’s edition is the 57th in the history of a race that has helped build the reputations of some of dirt track’s biggest-ever names, going all the way back to the very first Sacramento Mile won by four-time Grand National Champion Carroll Resweber in 1959.
Following four Short Tracks in the season’s opening six races, the season now transitions into a high-speed run of three consecutive Miles. Upon the 2023 schedule’s unveiling, the upcoming section of the campaign was immediately identified as key to the title defense of reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750).
Mees has developed into an absolute master of the strategic Mile discipline, racking up a bevy of race victories that helped pave the way for his acquisition of four additional championships since joining forces with Indian Motorcycle in 2017. The Sacramento Mile certainly played a role in that success, as Mees scored four consecutive victories in the race from 2018-2021.
Now facing an early 24-point deficit, another Cal Expo triumph this weekend would be most timely. However, to do so he’ll have to overcome the rider he’s currently chasing in the standings, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), who just so happened to win last year’s Sacramento Mile as a rookie.
Daniels is that much stronger in 2023 with a year of experience under his belt, building up his early advantage on the strength of three wins and three runner-ups.
Third-ranked JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) figures to be a factor as well. Beach demonstrated extraordinary speed on the Miles at times a year ago even if he was unable to parlay that pace into wins, largely due to poor luck. He’s driven to get that career-first Mile win, as it’s one of just two missing components in his ultimate ambition of collecting an “old school” Grand Slam of wins (ST, TT, HM, Mile, and Superbike).
Observers will also be keenly interested in the performance of Briar Bauman (No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 890 Duke). As expected, Bauman has been up-and-down as he adapts to, and develops, his new racebike. It’ll be fascinating to see how the machine performs when given a chance to run full-song around a big Mile racetrack.
The same is true of the factory Royal Enfields piloted by Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) and Ryan Wells (No. 94 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650). In its earliest, pre-premier class days, the bike avoided the Miles as the factory worked overtime to make up for an inherent horsepower disadvantage. However, the platform has come a long, long way from where it started. This will be the perfect opportunity to see exactly how it measures up against the best of the best on a Mile.
Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) headlines an accomplished group of highly competitive independent riders. The Pennsylvanian has had a tough opening third of the season, as he’s gotten beaten up by more than his share of falls already in 2023. The most recent came in the Ventura ST Main Event just days ago. And with precious little time to recover, the hope is that he’ll be ready to give it his all in Sacramento.
Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER
While the factory Red Bull KTMs and Turner Hondas have largely monopolized the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER headlines early this season, a different pairing is poised to steal back some attention this weekend.
Estenson Racing Yamaha’s Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) comes into the race with an active three-race win streak at the Sacramento Mile – a streak that transcends teams and manufacturers.
Meanwhile, no rider in the class has been as historically great at the high-profile event as the category’s all-time winningest rider, Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 450 SX-F), who boasts a grand tally of four Sacramento Mile wins (2012, 2013, 2017, and 2019).
Brunner has had his moments this season, and he’s been running consistently inside the top five. However, he’s still looking to recapture last season’s second-half form in which he racked up six podiums in seven races at one point, including a win in Sacramento.
Texter-Bauman, meanwhile, has flashed her trademark speed as she transitions back to the class. That said, she could definitely use a superior performance this weekend as a springboard for the rest of the year.
The usual suspects of title fighters – led by defending champ and points leader Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) and followed closely by Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F), Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), and Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) – will have their say of course.
This weekend also serves as something of a second chance for 1st Impressions Husqvarna’s Golden State duo of James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) and Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) to impress in front of their home state fans after struggling through something of a down outing at Ventura Raceway.
There will be plenty to keep fans entertained at the track on Saturday as well, including numerous vendors, plenty of food and beverage options, and motorcycle parking.
There are a wide variety of ticketing options to select from, starting with Adult General Admission Tickets, which are just $25 if purchased in advance.
Gates will open for fans at 5:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 9:45 p.m. ET (6:45 p.m. PT).
For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FansChoice.tv 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 https://www.fanschoice.tv.
FOX Sports coverage of the Legendary Sacramento Mile, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, May 27, at 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT).
Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, is the world’s premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on Progressive American Flat Track, please visit us on the web, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check us out on Instagram and catch all the Progressive American Flat Track racing action on FOX Sports.
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