The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Paul Duparc (FIM), Hervé Poncharal (IRTA) and Biense Bierma (MSMA), assisted by Carlos Ezpeleta (Dorna), Mike Trimby (IRTA, Secretary of the meeting) and Corrado Cecchinelli (Director of Technology), in a meeting held in on the 4th of August 2023, made the following decisions.
MotoGP™ Class Sporting Regulations – Effective immediately
Clarification of entry to Q1/Q2 if MotoGP Practice is cancelled
MotoGP™ Practice is now the only session that determines entry to Q1 and Q2. In case this Practice session is cancelled on Friday afternoon, the Saturday morning MotoGP™ session will become Practice instead of Free Practice, and will determine entry to Q1 and Q2.
If it is not possible to run the Saturday morning session, then the results of FP1 will be used to determine entry to Q1 and Q2.
In the rare case that no practice sessions have been able to take place, this is deemed force majeure and Race Direction will adjust the schedule and procedure as required, considering the prevailing conditions.
Robb Talbott was sitting at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca about four years ago, right above Turn Three, when he saw it all go wrong for a racer.
“I got to see a rider in one of the literbike classes go off at full speed and across the gravel and straight into the Airfence right in front of me,” says Talbott, owner of one of the most celebrated vineyards in California’s Carmel Valley as well as the Moto Talbott Museum. “He went straight in! Dust flew up, and he landed on the Airfence. He jumped off the Airfence, got back on his bike, fired it up and rode back onto the track. I was blown away. And then I said, ‘This works. This Airfence really works.’”
Talbott has become a regular supporter of the Roadracing World Action Fund (RWAF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded by Mr. Editor John Ulrich in 2001 to improve racer safety by buying and deploying soft barriers at events and tracks across the country. Over several years now, Talbott has donated enough for the RWAF to purchase five Alpina-brand soft-barrier sections deployed at MotoAmerica races.
Talbott got into motorcycling at the age of 14 on a borrowed bike, then went to a college where first-year students were not allowed to drive cars. The rules said nothing about motorcycles, so Talbott got his first motorcycle, a Honda. Watching his friends race motocross got him into motocrossing as well as hillclimbing, including competing at the storied Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
“By that point, I was hooked. It became part of my DNA,” Talbott says.
Talbott rode mostly on dirt, but developed an interest in street machines as well. The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum inspired him to see motorcycles not just as transportation or sporting devices, but also as art. He started collecting and then displaying bikes in the tasting room of the his vineyard. Today, the Moto Talbott Museum houses more than 170 machines from 17 countries.
Inevitably, Talbott was drawn to riding track days. Focusing mostly on the tracks closest to his Northern California home, he settled on a 1998 Ducati Supersport for track duty at Laguna Seca as well as Sonoma Raceway. Riding mostly at Reg Pridmore’s C.L.A.S.S. events, he racked up hundreds of track miles–and had a crash along the way.
Talbott is convinced of the need for increasing rider safety, and says he is happy to write a check for sections of soft barriers each year. To date, the Talbott Foundation has donated $50,000 to the Action Fund.
“I don’t go to tracks to see injuries and death. I go to see racing. And this helps us all,” he says.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Roadracing World Action Fund, go here.
PTR Triumph agree with Harry Truelove to end partnership early
In spite of the best efforts of everyone involved, PTR Triumph and Truelove have mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect.
The amicable decision was taken following a run of disappointing races, partly attributed to the injury Truelove sustained at Donington Park in early July and a combination of other factors. The previous British Supersport race winner Truelove was side-lined for the latest round in the Czech Republic, still suffering from the injury and the decision was made for him not to return to the squad after the summer break.
Harry Truelove: “It’s been a tricky year obviously, adapting to the Triumph hasn’t gone as we would have liked. The team and I have tried as much as we can to get a good feeling, however this has not come. For this reason we have decided to part ways. I wish the team the best of luck for the remaining rounds and I’d like to thank them for the opportunity.”
PTR Triumph Team Manager Simon Buckmaster: “We always want to succeed with every rider that rides for us, but after so many years of riding an inline four-cylinder machine it was difficult for Harry to adapt to our bike, so we have mutually decided to go our separate ways. It’s such a shame we couldn’t make it work but it’s in everybody’s best interests not to keep going. After seven rounds together, track days and testing with the team, we’ve just not been able to find that solution for Harry and for us as a team to achieve what we’d hoped to achieve together. We wish Harry all the best for whatever he does racing wise in the future and we want to thank him for all his efforts.”
Stefano Mesa Breaks Lap Record at Summit Point Motorsports Park
Summit Point, WV – At Round 14 on August 13, 2023, during the Unlimited Supersport race, Stefano Mesa broke the existing lap record of 1:10:551 and set a new lap record of 1:10:417 in an exhilarating display of skill and speed.
During the event, the previous record of 1:10:551 was lowered to 1:10:498 by Mesa on lap three of the Unlimited GP race on a Pirelli Diablo Superbike SCX rear tire. Then, during lap three of the Unlimited Supersport race, Mesa used a Pirelli Diablo Superbike SCQ rear tire to set the new outright record at 1:10:417.
With a time that defied expectations, Mesa achieved the new lap record on his 2023 Kawasaki ZX-10R, leaving spectators and fellow competitors in awe at the American Superbike Racing Association (ASRA) event, hosted at Summit Point Motorsports Park.
Stefano Mesa said, “Breaking the lap record again at Summit Point Motorsports Park is a dream come true. The track’s challenging curves and straights demanded everything from me, and my team’s hard work paid off.”
ASRA’s Alex Spellman said, “We are thrilled to witness such a phenomenal performance at the track. Stefano Mesa’s team played an integral role in this victory, demonstrating the importance of teamwork and collaboration in achieving such remarkable results.”
TT 2024 will once again commence on the Bank Holiday Monday (27th May) with free practice taking place in the morning followed by the first qualifying session in the afternoon and will conclude with the Milwaukee Senior TT Race taking place on Saturday 8th June 2024.
You can expect the race schedule to follow a similar format to 2023 with a second race for the Superstock and Supertwin classes. The ten race programme will take place across three sets of back-to-back race days split by two rest days.
2023 saw an incredible two weeks of history making and record breaking racing, as around the world we watched Michael Dunlop try to surpass his Uncle Joey’s record number of TT wins and become the most successful TT rider of all time. 2024 will be another year not to be missed with the chance to witness history in the making.
VISITING
Whether you’re a seasoned TT traveller or thinking about making your first trip, you won’t want to miss next year’s racing action and now is the perfect to time book.
Further travel opportunities will be available for TT 2024 thanks to the introduction of the new Isle of Man Steam Packet vessel. The ‘Manxman’ ferry will help you on and off the Island and give greater flexibility around peak travel times as it offers increased passenger capacity.
Official Travel Partners, Duke Travel, Sportsnet Holidays (Australia and New Zealand) and BeOutdoors (China) have a number of packages available to suit all your individual travel and budget needs, along with unbeatable knowledge of – and access to – a broad range of accommodation options, from hotels and guesthouses to camping and homestay.
Partners are also able to offer advice on flights and ferries from any destination in the world to connecting UK and Ireland ports at Belfast, Dublin, Heysham and Liverpool as well as most major UK airports.
Dumas, Young set for CTMP shootout in round four tripleheader
Toronto, ON – Very little has separated Alex Dumas and Ben Young in their time together in the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, but both will get a key opportunity to swing that rivalry in their favour this weekend in round four at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, August 18-20.
Through 20 races together in the feature GP Bikes Pro Superbike class, both riders have tilted the scales in their favour at various tracks, with Young out-qualifying Dumas 5-2 in that span while Dumas owns a 12-8 advantage on race day, each securing one championship in the process (Young having also won the title in 2019).
Compare their records at CTMP, however, and it’s about as even as you can get.
Six races at the historic venue north of Bowmanville, ON have produced two wins for Dumas, two for Young, and two for Jordan Szoke. In their non-victories, both riders finished as the runner-up three times, and completed the podium in third a single time.
In fact, just five total points separate the two in their CTMP history, with Young taking the slight advantage thanks to qualifying and lap led points. Needless to say, it’s an impossible task picking a favourite for the penultimate round of the 2023 campaign.
Little has separated Ben Young (left) and Alex Dumas (right) during their time competing against each other in CSBK. The two Canadian Champions have shared podium chats like this one many times over the last few seasons. Photo by Rob O’Brien, courtesy CSBK.
However, it is almost certain that the weekend will swing their rivalry in a massive way, with Dumas looking to put one hand on the Canada Cup as he carries a comfortable 36-point advantage into “Old Mosport,” a gap that looks significantly more menacing after the cancellation of round three and subsequent loss of one feature class race.
It will take a mighty effort – and even mightier luck – for the Purple Skull Brewing/Liqui Moly Suzuki rider to officially wrap things up entering round five at Shannonville, as he would need to massively outscore Young at CTMP to offset the 85 points available in September, but even a single victory could go a long way in handing Dumas his second title in three years.
That said, the same opportunity remains available to Young, as a 36-point deficit seems a lot more palatable with six races and 170 points left on the board. The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider scored his first-ever Pro Superbike win at this venue, after all, and has amassed nine podiums in his last ten races at CTMP, with his only absence being when he clinched the 2019 national title in a safe fourth place.
Young will also know that the super-fast, flowing nature of the circuit, combined with the long Andretti straightaway, often create large lead packs of riders with unpredictable results. While that can also jeopardize his efforts, it is a far bigger threat to Dumas as he aims to avoid any chaos over the final six contests.
Should a new winner emerge, though, it may seem like no better time than for Szoke to cap off his comeback story.
While his body has endured its fair share since his last CSBK victories in 2021, the ten-turn layout of CTMP is considered one of the least physically demanding tracks on the calendar, a key detail for Szoke with three races on the schedule.
The LDS Consultants Kawasaki rider unsurprisingly holds the record with 20 career Superbike wins at CTMP, four times as many as Pascal Picotte in second (5), and will be the first name in line to add to that total if Dumas or Young falter.
Just as Szoke chases victory number 79 in his career, a handful of names remain hungry for their first, and the wide-open nature of CTMP may be the place where the drought ends for one of Sam Guerin, Tomas Casas, or Trevor Daley.
The latter would need a significant turnaround from his broken femur suffered at round three just 24 days ago, but Daley is never one to count out if he can find a way to mount his OneSpeed Suzuki.
As for the two healthy names of the batch, Guerin and Casas have had opposite career paths at CTMP, but have seemingly ended up in the same situation entering the weekend tripleheader.
Guerin stormed out of the gates with second and third-place finishes in his first two pro races at the circuit in 2020, but the EFC Group BMW rider has managed just one top-five finish at the venue since, admittedly thanks to mechanical problems that have so far been fixed in 2023.
As for Casas, it’s been more of a consistent battle for the Parts Canada Yamaha rider at his home track, finishing a best of fourth in 2019, fifth in 2021, and fourth again (twice) a year ago, regularly in the lead group but thus far unable to stay at the front.
The status of Daley will also have huge implications on the Constructors Championship, where Suzuki currently leads BMW by 28 points. A healthy Guerin – as well as the consistent presence of IBEW BMW rider Jordan Royds – will help support Young up front, while an absent Daley would put plenty of pressure on RLS Contracting Suzuki rookie John Fraser in his first pro appearance at CTMP.
Szoke and Casas also figure to play a huge role in the scrap for third overall in the Constructors table, where Kawasaki currently trails Yamaha by 27 points.
The penultimate shootout will also prove to be a crucial one in a pair of awards battles, as Young looks to cement his second BS Battery Pole Award while the fight for the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year Award rages on.
Young owns a six-point advantage over Dumas in the qualifying-based battle, and can clinch the award with another pole position and a third-or-worse grid spot for Dumas.
As for the Rookie of the Year contest, Acme Motorsports Yamaha newcomer Paul Macdonell currently leads 18-year-old Fraser by just a single point, with LDS Consultants Kawasaki star Trevor Dion a further 12 points back.
Keeping with tradition, the return to CTMP will also bring back the “King of Mosport” award, offered to the GP Bikes Pro Superbike rider that scores the most total points across the weekend.
Dumas was crowned the King of Mosport a year ago with a pair of wins, while Young took the honour (and literal crown to go with it) in both 2021 and 2019.
The full schedule for the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.
Mark Mitchell got his start on two wheels doing moderately crazy things on a minibike. These days, he’s most often found on a Ducati Multistrada, and he’s giving back to those who are laying it all on the line for glory, fortune, and the entertainment of the fans.
“I was at Laguna Seca visiting one of the World Superbike events. I used to ride up there quite often from SoCal with friends,” says Mitchell, a wealth fund manager and contributor to the Roadracing World Action Fund. “I remember thinking that, being a motorcycle rider for so many years, I was aware of the risks that (racers) face while we enjoy the entertainment provided by these warriors who are competing on the race track.”
When given the opportunity to help make the sport safer by increasing the amount of inflatable barriers available for deployment at tracks around the nation, Mitchell says he thought, “Why wouldn’t you do that?”
Mitchell serves on the board of a nonprofit with Gordon McCall, who oversees The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, and through McCall found out about the annual “Rainey’s Ride To The Races” event. The ride, held prior to the MotoAmerica round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, offers participants a chance to help raise money for the Action Fund, in part by purchasing a section of Alpina inflatable barrier.
Mitchell attended, and he purchased.
“I thought, let’s kick this off, so I bought a section,” Mitchell says.
Mitchell has raced amateur motocross and the occasional desert race, competing once in the famous Barstow to Vegas event. He has ridden in events across the nation and in Europe, a long way from his start as a seven-year-old ripping around on the streets of Carson in Southern California in the late 1960s.
“My first ‘legit’ motorcycle was a Yamaha, a JT1, a 60cc mini-enduro,” Mitchell says. “But before that, I had a Taco minibike. The thing to do when you wanted to go faster was to reach under the gas tank and get your right hand on the governor and press down. You’d try to get it to move a millimeter or two to get a little more speed. So you’d be trying to go faster and then increase the risk factor by taking your hand off the bar. It made perfect sense back then!
“My mother knew I was hooked. I was so fascinated by the speed of these two-wheeled rockets. So she got me the JT1. She was so supportive. And I started riding with my friends, and it all went from there.”
Mitchell says tracks and race organizers shouldn’t be in a position where they are trying to prioritize which sections of the circuit gets soft barrier protection, so it is crucial for rider and racer safety to ensure that they have all that they need on hand.
“All too often, (crashes) happen where you don’t expect it to happen,” Mitchell says. “In a perfect world, there would be (soft barriers) everywhere it was needed, all around the track.”
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Roadracing World Action Fund, go here.
Okay first of all, I need y’all’s opinions about my hair LOL We definitely changed things up, is it a go or no go? Second, we’re making progress! Even if the positions have been roughly the same, we are getting closer and closer to where we want to be. The gap to the front is the smallest it’s been CMON 👊🏽
Thanks for watching, let me know what your favorite part of the video was and let me know when I’ll see you at one of the races! Much love 🫶🏽
Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley and two-time World Championship-winning Crew Chief Peter Bom have started “The Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast,” which will be focused on the FIM MotoGP World Championship.
This week’s podcast is “MotoGP – The Chicane Chicanery.”
The original podcast can be found on BuzzSprout.com or listened to via other places you get podcasts.
Ural Motorcycles Announces the Gear Up Expedition: Ready For Anything
The Expedition is the Gear Up’s top trim level
Equipped with nearly every accessory available in Ural’s catalog, the Expedition was developed with the the ultimate motorcycle adventure in mind
The expedition comes in three unique colorways—Colza Field (green/yellow), Ember Flame (terracotta/silver), and Polar Dawn (blue/orange)
MSRP is $31,440 (CAD 42,100)
Redmond, WA. August 14, 2023 – Ural Motorcycles, the world’s leading producer of sidecar motorcycles, released the top-of-the-line trim level for its legendary 2WD Gear Up model—the Expedition.
Built with the ultimate motorcycle adventure in mind, the Expedition is a fully equipped, go anywhere, do anything machine that can tackle nearly any situation on or off the road.
Straight from the factory the Expedition comes with everything a rider and a passenger may need to travel to the edge of the world and back. On top of the standard Gear Up’s already respectable loadout, the Expedition comes with more luggage space, tougher bike and sidecar protection, matching windshields, upgraded suspension, and more.
The new Expedition comes in three unique colorways, representing the various types of terrain that travelers may choose to explore. Colza Field is a bright yellow over OD Green paint scheme meant to invoke lush prairies full of green leaves and yellow flowers. The dramatic orange over blue Polar Dawn recalls a fiery sunrise in the arctic circle and is a homage to Gear Up’s Siberian roots. Ember Flame—a dashing terracotta over silver affair—suggests an urban landscape of steel, glass, asphalt, and glittering lights, and designed to remind riders that adventures can be had anywhere, even in their own back yard.
The line that divides the colors slashes across the bike at a rakish 23.5 degrees, the same as Earth’s axial tilt. It’s a fun little easter egg and a nod to the Expedition’s ability to tackle any terrain and to Ural’s off-kilter character.
The 2023 Ural Gear Up Expedition has an MSRP of $31,440 (CAD 42,100) and is available now at Ural dealers. For more information, check out the Gear Up Expedition page on Ural’s Website and be sure to follow Ural on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
High-resolution still images and short videos of the Gear Up Expedition in action for editorial use can be found here. Please make a copy of the photos or videos for yourself and move the copies out of the folder instead of the main named files.
Ural Motorcycles has been the world’s leading producer of sidecar motorcycles for more than 80 years. Urals are known for their rugged construction and distinctive styling. This mix of old and new, classic and modern, has gained these iconic machines a passionate following among adventurers, nonconformists, and motorcycle aficionados around the world. To learn more about Ural Motorcycles, visit imz-ural.com
The start of the MotoGP race at Silverstone in 2023 with Jack Miller (43) and Marco Bezzecchi (72) contesting the lead. Photo courtesy Dorna.
FIM Grand Prix World Championship
Decisions of the Grand Prix Commission
The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Paul Duparc (FIM), Hervé Poncharal (IRTA) and Biense Bierma (MSMA), assisted by Carlos Ezpeleta (Dorna), Mike Trimby (IRTA, Secretary of the meeting) and Corrado Cecchinelli (Director of Technology), in a meeting held in on the 4th of August 2023, made the following decisions.
MotoGP™ Class Sporting Regulations – Effective immediately
Clarification of entry to Q1/Q2 if MotoGP Practice is cancelled
MotoGP™ Practice is now the only session that determines entry to Q1 and Q2. In case this Practice session is cancelled on Friday afternoon, the Saturday morning MotoGP™ session will become Practice instead of Free Practice, and will determine entry to Q1 and Q2.
If it is not possible to run the Saturday morning session, then the results of FP1 will be used to determine entry to Q1 and Q2.
In the rare case that no practice sessions have been able to take place, this is deemed force majeure and Race Direction will adjust the schedule and procedure as required, considering the prevailing conditions.
Robb Talbott on his Ducati 900 Supersport at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo courtesy Robb Talbott.
“I Am Sold…”
By Michael Gougis
Robb Talbott was sitting at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca about four years ago, right above Turn Three, when he saw it all go wrong for a racer.
“I got to see a rider in one of the literbike classes go off at full speed and across the gravel and straight into the Airfence right in front of me,” says Talbott, owner of one of the most celebrated vineyards in California’s Carmel Valley as well as the Moto Talbott Museum. “He went straight in! Dust flew up, and he landed on the Airfence. He jumped off the Airfence, got back on his bike, fired it up and rode back onto the track. I was blown away. And then I said, ‘This works. This Airfence really works.’”
Talbott has become a regular supporter of the Roadracing World Action Fund (RWAF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded by Mr. Editor John Ulrich in 2001 to improve racer safety by buying and deploying soft barriers at events and tracks across the country. Over several years now, Talbott has donated enough for the RWAF to purchase five Alpina-brand soft-barrier sections deployed at MotoAmerica races.
Talbott got into motorcycling at the age of 14 on a borrowed bike, then went to a college where first-year students were not allowed to drive cars. The rules said nothing about motorcycles, so Talbott got his first motorcycle, a Honda. Watching his friends race motocross got him into motocrossing as well as hillclimbing, including competing at the storied Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
“By that point, I was hooked. It became part of my DNA,” Talbott says.
Talbott rode mostly on dirt, but developed an interest in street machines as well. The Art of the Motorcycle exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum inspired him to see motorcycles not just as transportation or sporting devices, but also as art. He started collecting and then displaying bikes in the tasting room of the his vineyard. Today, the Moto Talbott Museum houses more than 170 machines from 17 countries.
Inevitably, Talbott was drawn to riding track days. Focusing mostly on the tracks closest to his Northern California home, he settled on a 1998 Ducati Supersport for track duty at Laguna Seca as well as Sonoma Raceway. Riding mostly at Reg Pridmore’s C.L.A.S.S. events, he racked up hundreds of track miles–and had a crash along the way.
Talbott is convinced of the need for increasing rider safety, and says he is happy to write a check for sections of soft barriers each year. To date, the Talbott Foundation has donated $50,000 to the Action Fund.
“I don’t go to tracks to see injuries and death. I go to see racing. And this helps us all,” he says.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Roadracing World Action Fund, go here.
PTR Triumph agree with Harry Truelove to end partnership early
In spite of the best efforts of everyone involved, PTR Triumph and Truelove have mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect.
The amicable decision was taken following a run of disappointing races, partly attributed to the injury Truelove sustained at Donington Park in early July and a combination of other factors. The previous British Supersport race winner Truelove was side-lined for the latest round in the Czech Republic, still suffering from the injury and the decision was made for him not to return to the squad after the summer break.
Harry Truelove: “It’s been a tricky year obviously, adapting to the Triumph hasn’t gone as we would have liked. The team and I have tried as much as we can to get a good feeling, however this has not come. For this reason we have decided to part ways. I wish the team the best of luck for the remaining rounds and I’d like to thank them for the opportunity.”
PTR Triumph Team Manager Simon Buckmaster: “We always want to succeed with every rider that rides for us, but after so many years of riding an inline four-cylinder machine it was difficult for Harry to adapt to our bike, so we have mutually decided to go our separate ways. It’s such a shame we couldn’t make it work but it’s in everybody’s best interests not to keep going. After seven rounds together, track days and testing with the team, we’ve just not been able to find that solution for Harry and for us as a team to achieve what we’d hoped to achieve together. We wish Harry all the best for whatever he does racing wise in the future and we want to thank him for all his efforts.”
Stefano Mesa (37) used Pirelli tires to set a new motorcycle lap record at Summit Point Motorsports Park. Photo by Noiseless Productions, courtesy ASRA.
Stefano Mesa Breaks Lap Record at Summit Point Motorsports Park
Summit Point, WV – At Round 14 on August 13, 2023, during the Unlimited Supersport race, Stefano Mesa broke the existing lap record of 1:10:551 and set a new lap record of 1:10:417 in an exhilarating display of skill and speed.
During the event, the previous record of 1:10:551 was lowered to 1:10:498 by Mesa on lap three of the Unlimited GP race on a Pirelli Diablo Superbike SCX rear tire. Then, during lap three of the Unlimited Supersport race, Mesa used a Pirelli Diablo Superbike SCQ rear tire to set the new outright record at 1:10:417.
With a time that defied expectations, Mesa achieved the new lap record on his 2023 Kawasaki ZX-10R, leaving spectators and fellow competitors in awe at the American Superbike Racing Association (ASRA) event, hosted at Summit Point Motorsports Park.
Stefano Mesa said, “Breaking the lap record again at Summit Point Motorsports Park is a dream come true. The track’s challenging curves and straights demanded everything from me, and my team’s hard work paid off.”
ASRA’s Alex Spellman said, “We are thrilled to witness such a phenomenal performance at the track. Stefano Mesa’s team played an integral role in this victory, demonstrating the importance of teamwork and collaboration in achieving such remarkable results.”
Dean Harrison in action during the 2023 Isle of Man TT. Photo courtesy Isle of Man TT Press Office.
2024 ISLE OF MAN TT RACES DATES CONFIRMED
TT 2024 will once again commence on the Bank Holiday Monday (27th May) with free practice taking place in the morning followed by the first qualifying session in the afternoon and will conclude with the Milwaukee Senior TT Race taking place on Saturday 8th June 2024.
You can expect the race schedule to follow a similar format to 2023 with a second race for the Superstock and Supertwin classes. The ten race programme will take place across three sets of back-to-back race days split by two rest days.
2023 saw an incredible two weeks of history making and record breaking racing, as around the world we watched Michael Dunlop try to surpass his Uncle Joey’s record number of TT wins and become the most successful TT rider of all time. 2024 will be another year not to be missed with the chance to witness history in the making.
VISITING
Whether you’re a seasoned TT traveller or thinking about making your first trip, you won’t want to miss next year’s racing action and now is the perfect to time book.
Further travel opportunities will be available for TT 2024 thanks to the introduction of the new Isle of Man Steam Packet vessel. The ‘Manxman’ ferry will help you on and off the Island and give greater flexibility around peak travel times as it offers increased passenger capacity.
Official Travel Partners, Duke Travel, Sportsnet Holidays (Australia and New Zealand) and BeOutdoors (China) have a number of packages available to suit all your individual travel and budget needs, along with unbeatable knowledge of – and access to – a broad range of accommodation options, from hotels and guesthouses to camping and homestay.
Partners are also able to offer advice on flights and ferries from any destination in the world to connecting UK and Ireland ports at Belfast, Dublin, Heysham and Liverpool as well as most major UK airports.
Alex Dumas (23) carries a comfortable CSBK championship lead into the upcoming Canadian Tire Motorsport Park round, but the challenge will be maintaining that lead with three Superbike races scheduled for the round four weekend.
Photo by Rob O'Brien, courtesy CSBK.
Dumas, Young set for CTMP shootout in round four tripleheader
Toronto, ON – Very little has separated Alex Dumas and Ben Young in their time together in the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship, but both will get a key opportunity to swing that rivalry in their favour this weekend in round four at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, August 18-20.
Through 20 races together in the feature GP Bikes Pro Superbike class, both riders have tilted the scales in their favour at various tracks, with Young out-qualifying Dumas 5-2 in that span while Dumas owns a 12-8 advantage on race day, each securing one championship in the process (Young having also won the title in 2019).
Compare their records at CTMP, however, and it’s about as even as you can get.
Six races at the historic venue north of Bowmanville, ON have produced two wins for Dumas, two for Young, and two for Jordan Szoke. In their non-victories, both riders finished as the runner-up three times, and completed the podium in third a single time.
In fact, just five total points separate the two in their CTMP history, with Young taking the slight advantage thanks to qualifying and lap led points. Needless to say, it’s an impossible task picking a favourite for the penultimate round of the 2023 campaign.
Little has separated Ben Young (left) and Alex Dumas (right) during their time competing against each other in CSBK. The two Canadian Champions have shared podium chats like this one many times over the last few seasons. Photo by Rob O’Brien, courtesy CSBK.
However, it is almost certain that the weekend will swing their rivalry in a massive way, with Dumas looking to put one hand on the Canada Cup as he carries a comfortable 36-point advantage into “Old Mosport,” a gap that looks significantly more menacing after the cancellation of round three and subsequent loss of one feature class race.
It will take a mighty effort – and even mightier luck – for the Purple Skull Brewing/Liqui Moly Suzuki rider to officially wrap things up entering round five at Shannonville, as he would need to massively outscore Young at CTMP to offset the 85 points available in September, but even a single victory could go a long way in handing Dumas his second title in three years.
That said, the same opportunity remains available to Young, as a 36-point deficit seems a lot more palatable with six races and 170 points left on the board. The Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW rider scored his first-ever Pro Superbike win at this venue, after all, and has amassed nine podiums in his last ten races at CTMP, with his only absence being when he clinched the 2019 national title in a safe fourth place.
Young will also know that the super-fast, flowing nature of the circuit, combined with the long Andretti straightaway, often create large lead packs of riders with unpredictable results. While that can also jeopardize his efforts, it is a far bigger threat to Dumas as he aims to avoid any chaos over the final six contests.
Should a new winner emerge, though, it may seem like no better time than for Szoke to cap off his comeback story.
While his body has endured its fair share since his last CSBK victories in 2021, the ten-turn layout of CTMP is considered one of the least physically demanding tracks on the calendar, a key detail for Szoke with three races on the schedule.
The LDS Consultants Kawasaki rider unsurprisingly holds the record with 20 career Superbike wins at CTMP, four times as many as Pascal Picotte in second (5), and will be the first name in line to add to that total if Dumas or Young falter.
Just as Szoke chases victory number 79 in his career, a handful of names remain hungry for their first, and the wide-open nature of CTMP may be the place where the drought ends for one of Sam Guerin, Tomas Casas, or Trevor Daley.
The latter would need a significant turnaround from his broken femur suffered at round three just 24 days ago, but Daley is never one to count out if he can find a way to mount his OneSpeed Suzuki.
As for the two healthy names of the batch, Guerin and Casas have had opposite career paths at CTMP, but have seemingly ended up in the same situation entering the weekend tripleheader.
Guerin stormed out of the gates with second and third-place finishes in his first two pro races at the circuit in 2020, but the EFC Group BMW rider has managed just one top-five finish at the venue since, admittedly thanks to mechanical problems that have so far been fixed in 2023.
As for Casas, it’s been more of a consistent battle for the Parts Canada Yamaha rider at his home track, finishing a best of fourth in 2019, fifth in 2021, and fourth again (twice) a year ago, regularly in the lead group but thus far unable to stay at the front.
The status of Daley will also have huge implications on the Constructors Championship, where Suzuki currently leads BMW by 28 points. A healthy Guerin – as well as the consistent presence of IBEW BMW rider Jordan Royds – will help support Young up front, while an absent Daley would put plenty of pressure on RLS Contracting Suzuki rookie John Fraser in his first pro appearance at CTMP.
Szoke and Casas also figure to play a huge role in the scrap for third overall in the Constructors table, where Kawasaki currently trails Yamaha by 27 points.
The penultimate shootout will also prove to be a crucial one in a pair of awards battles, as Young looks to cement his second BS Battery Pole Award while the fight for the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year Award rages on.
Young owns a six-point advantage over Dumas in the qualifying-based battle, and can clinch the award with another pole position and a third-or-worse grid spot for Dumas.
As for the Rookie of the Year contest, Acme Motorsports Yamaha newcomer Paul Macdonell currently leads 18-year-old Fraser by just a single point, with LDS Consultants Kawasaki star Trevor Dion a further 12 points back.
Keeping with tradition, the return to CTMP will also bring back the “King of Mosport” award, offered to the GP Bikes Pro Superbike rider that scores the most total points across the weekend.
Dumas was crowned the King of Mosport a year ago with a pair of wins, while Young took the honour (and literal crown to go with it) in both 2021 and 2019.
The full schedule for the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.
Roadracing World Action Fund donor Mark Mitchell and his Troy Bayliss Replica Ducati 998 S. Photo courtesy Mark Mitchell.
“Why Wouldn’t You Do That?”
By Michael Gougis
Mark Mitchell got his start on two wheels doing moderately crazy things on a minibike. These days, he’s most often found on a Ducati Multistrada, and he’s giving back to those who are laying it all on the line for glory, fortune, and the entertainment of the fans.
“I was at Laguna Seca visiting one of the World Superbike events. I used to ride up there quite often from SoCal with friends,” says Mitchell, a wealth fund manager and contributor to the Roadracing World Action Fund. “I remember thinking that, being a motorcycle rider for so many years, I was aware of the risks that (racers) face while we enjoy the entertainment provided by these warriors who are competing on the race track.”
When given the opportunity to help make the sport safer by increasing the amount of inflatable barriers available for deployment at tracks around the nation, Mitchell says he thought, “Why wouldn’t you do that?”
Mitchell serves on the board of a nonprofit with Gordon McCall, who oversees The Quail Motorcycle Gathering, and through McCall found out about the annual “Rainey’s Ride To The Races” event. The ride, held prior to the MotoAmerica round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, offers participants a chance to help raise money for the Action Fund, in part by purchasing a section of Alpina inflatable barrier.
Mitchell attended, and he purchased.
“I thought, let’s kick this off, so I bought a section,” Mitchell says.
Mitchell has raced amateur motocross and the occasional desert race, competing once in the famous Barstow to Vegas event. He has ridden in events across the nation and in Europe, a long way from his start as a seven-year-old ripping around on the streets of Carson in Southern California in the late 1960s.
“My first ‘legit’ motorcycle was a Yamaha, a JT1, a 60cc mini-enduro,” Mitchell says. “But before that, I had a Taco minibike. The thing to do when you wanted to go faster was to reach under the gas tank and get your right hand on the governor and press down. You’d try to get it to move a millimeter or two to get a little more speed. So you’d be trying to go faster and then increase the risk factor by taking your hand off the bar. It made perfect sense back then!
“My mother knew I was hooked. I was so fascinated by the speed of these two-wheeled rockets. So she got me the JT1. She was so supportive. And I started riding with my friends, and it all went from there.”
Mitchell says tracks and race organizers shouldn’t be in a position where they are trying to prioritize which sections of the circuit gets soft barrier protection, so it is crucial for rider and racer safety to ensure that they have all that they need on hand.
“All too often, (crashes) happen where you don’t expect it to happen,” Mitchell says. “In a perfect world, there would be (soft barriers) everywhere it was needed, all around the track.”
To make a tax-deductible donation to the Roadracing World Action Fund, go here.
American Garrett Gerloff (31) at speed on his Bonovo Action BMW M 1000 RR Superbike at Donington Park. Photo courtesy BMW Motorrad Motorsport.
DONINGTON PARK CIRCUIT
Okay first of all, I need y’all’s opinions about my hair LOL We definitely changed things up, is it a go or no go? Second, we’re making progress! Even if the positions have been roughly the same, we are getting closer and closer to where we want to be. The gap to the front is the smallest it’s been CMON 👊🏽
Thanks for watching, let me know what your favorite part of the video was and let me know when I’ll see you at one of the races! Much love 🫶🏽
Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley (left) and two-time World Championship-winning Crew Chief Peter Bom (right) in the paddock at Jerez. Photo courtesy Mat Oxley.
Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley and two-time World Championship-winning Crew Chief Peter Bom have started “The Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast,” which will be focused on the FIM MotoGP World Championship.
This week’s podcast is “MotoGP – The Chicane Chicanery.”
The original podcast can be found on BuzzSprout.com or listened to via other places you get podcasts.
A Ural Gear Up Expedition. Photo courtesy Ural Motorcycles.
Ural Motorcycles Announces the Gear Up Expedition: Ready For Anything
The Expedition is the Gear Up’s top trim level
Equipped with nearly every accessory available in Ural’s catalog, the Expedition was developed with the the ultimate motorcycle adventure in mind
The expedition comes in three unique colorways—Colza Field (green/yellow), Ember Flame (terracotta/silver), and Polar Dawn (blue/orange)
MSRP is $31,440 (CAD 42,100)
Redmond, WA. August 14, 2023 – Ural Motorcycles, the world’s leading producer of sidecar motorcycles, released the top-of-the-line trim level for its legendary 2WD Gear Up model—the Expedition.
Built with the ultimate motorcycle adventure in mind, the Expedition is a fully equipped, go anywhere, do anything machine that can tackle nearly any situation on or off the road.
Straight from the factory the Expedition comes with everything a rider and a passenger may need to travel to the edge of the world and back. On top of the standard Gear Up’s already respectable loadout, the Expedition comes with more luggage space, tougher bike and sidecar protection, matching windshields, upgraded suspension, and more.
The new Expedition comes in three unique colorways, representing the various types of terrain that travelers may choose to explore. Colza Field is a bright yellow over OD Green paint scheme meant to invoke lush prairies full of green leaves and yellow flowers. The dramatic orange over blue Polar Dawn recalls a fiery sunrise in the arctic circle and is a homage to Gear Up’s Siberian roots. Ember Flame—a dashing terracotta over silver affair—suggests an urban landscape of steel, glass, asphalt, and glittering lights, and designed to remind riders that adventures can be had anywhere, even in their own back yard.
The line that divides the colors slashes across the bike at a rakish 23.5 degrees, the same as Earth’s axial tilt. It’s a fun little easter egg and a nod to the Expedition’s ability to tackle any terrain and to Ural’s off-kilter character.
The 2023 Ural Gear Up Expedition has an MSRP of $31,440 (CAD 42,100) and is available now at Ural dealers. For more information, check out the Gear Up Expedition page on Ural’s Website and be sure to follow Ural on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
High-resolution still images and short videos of the Gear Up Expedition in action for editorial use can be found here. Please make a copy of the photos or videos for yourself and move the copies out of the folder instead of the main named files.
Ural Motorcycles has been the world’s leading producer of sidecar motorcycles for more than 80 years. Urals are known for their rugged construction and distinctive styling. This mix of old and new, classic and modern, has gained these iconic machines a passionate following among adventurers, nonconformists, and motorcycle aficionados around the world. To learn more about Ural Motorcycles, visit imz-ural.com
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www.roadracingworld.com
November 13, 2026
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