Crutchlow tops the opening day in Malaysia as new parts surface from several factories
Sunday, 05 February 2023
MotoGP™ bikes are back on track! The 2023 campaign has resumed with test riders and our sole premier class rookie, Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3), completing a rain-affected opening day of the Sepang Shakedown test. Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow topped the timesheets with a 2:01.146, although it’s less about laptimes and more about track time in the first few days of action this year.
YAMAHA
Three-time Grand Prix winner Crutchlow had three YZR-M1s at his disposal – two 2023 spec bikes, one 2022 spec machine. The main focus was pinpointed on Yamaha’s new, more aggressive engine which was a hot topic of conversation back in Valencia. Glancing at the timesheets, it looks like the problem that arose at the end of last year, causing some puzzled looks after clear improvements had been proven at earlier tests, has been diagnosed.
Crutchlow clocked a 330km/h top speed according to the circuit’s live timing, just a couple of kms shy of the fastest. In addition, looking back at the 2022 Sepang Test, Yamaha’s fastest top speed was 327km/h – early indications that progress has been made. That’ll be music to the ears of Fabio Quartararo and his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ teammate Franco Morbidelli ahead of the Official Sepang Test.
Cal Crutchlow (T3). Photo courtesy Dorna.
KTM
New KTM testing recruit Jonas Folger joined MotoGP™ Legend Dani Pedrosa on track for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing as the German got to grips with the RC16 for the first time. Pedrosa, meanwhile, was working with Jack Miller’s crew on the opening day.
Dani Pedrosa (26). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Jonas Folger walks to his KTM RC16. Photo courtesy Dorna.
GASGAS
Reigning Moto2™ World Champion Fernandez was back out with GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 and having had no plans for the Valencia Test apart from trying a MotoGP™ bike for the first time, these three days will be vital for the Spaniard to start making the bike his own. The number 37 finished second on the timesheets with a 2:01.331, just 0.185s from Crutchlow’s best effort.
Augusto Fernandez (37). Photo courtesy Dorna.
HONDA
Stefan Bradl was lapping for HRC and the German had two RC213Vs in the box. Bradl was out on a new-look Honda machine dressed in redesigned aero, a new exhaust and the 2023 engine. Bradl’s best time was a 2:01.605, placing him fourth on the timesheets.
Stefan Bradl (6). Photo courtesy Dorna.
APRILIA
Lorenzo Savadori was on hand to give the 2023 Aprilia RS-GPs a shakedown, and it was a busy day for the Italian who had six bikes to ride. Aprilia debuted some new aero – something we’ll be seeing plenty of from the factories during pre-season – as Savadori also suffered a technical issue towards the end of the day.
Lorenzo Savadori (32). Photo courtesy Dorna.
DUCATI
Ducati’s trusted Michele Pirro was again putting in the groundwork for the reigning World Champions, who head into the season looking to defend not one, not two, but three Championships.
The Borgo Panigale factory opened their 2023 account with a new fairing to show off, and Pirro worked with two GP23s. The Italian posted a 2:02.115 best lap time.
Michele Pirro (51). Photo courtesy Dorna.
With temperatures soaring in Malaysia, coupled with a dirty track surface following the winter and then rain coming later in the day, times were around three seconds slower than what we saw at the 2022 Malaysian GP. Expect the times to tumble the further we get into testing at Sepang!
Come back for more Shakedown on Monday and keep up to date with all the goings on on motogp.com and across social media!
Despite racing motorcycles since 1989, I never possessed my racebike. Sure, I owned a few of my TZ250s but they never lived at my house, always staying with my tuner Steve Biganski or at Zero Gravity. We’d meet at the track, race, and then go our separate ways. The other bikes I raced in Willow Springs, WERA and AMA Pro competition belonged to the shops that built them.
Lately I’ve raced Rusty Bigley’s Spondon TZ750, Chris Carr’s GPz550 built by Hypercycle’s Carry Andrew, Carry’s Z1, and most notably a trick Honda NSR250 built by Speedwerks’s Steve Long and crew.
I write “notably” because Steve Long and I have enjoyed amazingly similar motorcycle lives even though we live almost a continent apart; we grew up in motorcycling together but separately. Steve places “consistently fast lap times while looking pretty” as the top priority of his builds and loaned me his NSR250 for the AHRMA finals at Barber a few years ago; since he wasn’t there, I tuned and rode it. It was a blast.
On the phone from Barber I told Steve about my desire to “have my very own racebike” someday. “What would you want?” Steve asked.
Great question, so I made a list:
–Something I could maintain myself
–Something that started with the push of a button
–Something that fit into an AHRMA (ahrma.org) class
–Something on 17-inch wheels for good tire selection
–A balance of entry speed and exit horsepower
–Something I could afford…and afford to crash
–Something reliable so I could actually ride, not constantly repair
During discussions the choice became clear: A 1989-1993 Yamaha FZR600. I’d successfully raced one at Willow and in AMA Pro. They were tough, fairly well-balanced, affordable, are now AHRMA legal…and Speedwerks had “a pile of that crap sitting around,” according to Steve.
A shot from the way-back machine…Nick Ienatsch at Willow Springs in 1989 with FZR600 and FZR400 raecbikes built by Kerker’s Steve Johnson. These good times make the Speedwerks 600 more precious. Photo courtesy NI Collection.
A Plan
A simple plan was devised. Speedwerks would get me started on the FZR600 and I would finish it in my very own garage.
Steve had questions about what prep Speedwerks should do and what I could do.
“Can you assemble a stock engine?” he asked.
“No.”
“Can you do the transmission?”
“No.”
“Can you modify the stock forks?”
“No.”
“Can you install aftermarket bodywork.”
“Good Lord, no.”
Fairly quickly Steve realized the direction of the build and asked, “Well…what can you do?”
Another good question. Truthfully, there’s nothing I can do in my garage better than the Speedwerks crew. However, I can clean parts, paint with a spray can, safety-wire stuff despite constant drill-bit breaking, change tires and oil, adjust valves unless the cams need to come out, bleed brakes, unbolt and bolt stuff, install chains, lubricate and maintain pieces and parts. I had to admit that my main mechanical strong point is enthusiasm.
It was a pretty short answer. “Not much” is how Steve summed it up. We laughed. We laugh about a lot of things.
“OK,” Steve sighed. “We’ll get you started with something.”
“I Threw Together a Bunch of Crap”
Steve’s friend Josh Deery knew of a worn and inexpensive FZR600 racebike in Pennsylvania so Speedwerks’s shipper Simon Tack grabbed it. It was a great find, but the crew soon discovered the engine was “beyond tired.” Steve, with a few phone calls, found another FZR in North Carolina and that bike’s stock engine had good compression and the stock carbs and airbox were intact and functional. We decided not to mod anything, just run it stock for reliability.
The tired 1990 FZR600 that Speedwerks unearthed to get this project started. Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
Then Steve’s crew of son Seth and Super Dave Trotter pulled the tired parts off, bolting on brand-new Beasley Composites fiberglass http://beasleycomposites.com , an old Vance & Hines header pipe matched to an Scorpion muffler that “was hanging on the wall,” spliced together with extensive handywork by Super Dave.
The team swapped out the stock rear-suspension linkage dogbones for GSX-R SRAD aluminum pieces so an SV650 17-inch rear wheel would work with an Öhlins shock. Yes, an Öhlins! Gave a whole new meaning to the term “Öhlins shock” when I heard about it.
“Yeah,” Steve said, “it’s a GSX-R1000 shock we had here. Dave modified and resprung it to get it set-up with the right swingarm angle and ride height. What color wheels do you want? I’ve got about a dozen SV wheels in various colors.
“Do you care if we run some inexpensive Chinese rearsets and clip-ons?” Nick Ienatsch didn’t mind. Note the new #528 chain and Öhlins shock in the background. These footpegs were made for a SV650 but Super Dave Trotter grafted them onto the FZR. Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
“We’re using the stock forks due to budget, but Super Dave added Race Tech Emulators https://racetech.com and massaged the bottoms and rebound damping holes. We threw some 9.25 springs in.
“Had a set of early-R6 calipers out in the dumpster, so they’re on the FZR now. Seth dug around in another pile of trash and found some good pads.”
Those were the messages, delivered with Steve’s understated sarcasm, and each of them came with a picture or two of the bike in various states of disarray. My excitement was at a fever pitch.
Remember these Factory case covers? This is the type of stuff Steve Long has “getting kicked around the shop, in the way.” Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
If pressed, I couldn’t truthfully answer the question: “Are you more excited to work on it or ride it?” I prepared a parts list, maintenance log, and started studying videos on “how to paint bikes in your garage.” The bike was still in Delaware, but I was beyond ready in Colorado.
Steve Long’s Main Flaw
On a Tuesday morning I got a text from Speedwerks, “Got some pics, want to see?”
“Send them!”
Two minutes later Steve sent me a link to a photo portfolio labeled “Nick’s Racebike.” I literally couldn’t believe it. The FZR looked stunning! Done. Ready to race. Beyond anything I ever expected and far beyond anything I had imagined or hoped for. Remember, I raced these things back in the day and they never looked this good. I couldn’t stop smiling.
Steve Long dug around the Speedwerks shop and found “the last Graves Motorsports FZR fairing stay in existence” and brought it into the modern world with a Koso voltmeter matched to a Koso coolant-temp sensor mounted in the stock ignition-key location. A steering damper was added in an out-of-harm’s-way location. Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
I immediately called and after stammering over the appearance of the bike, my first question was, “What happened to our plan of you starting it and me finishing it?”
Painter Dave Arnold worked his magic on the Beasely bodywork, producing a show-bike finish on a 33-year-old bike. Arnold, like Steve Long, is an enthusiast and is producing a custom bike to raffle for a veterans’ program. Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
“Yeah,” Steve answered, “we just got rolling on it and Dave Arnold, our painter, sprayed it grey and then I got Jeff at Inline4Designs and Print https://www.inline4designs.xyz/ to do the graphics. You said you liked grey with a yellow highlight, so there it is.”
I was speechless. My “starter kit” had turned into one of the neatest racebikes I’d ever seen. In 20 years I could not have reached this level, not only in quality but the inventiveness of the paint and graphics, the correctness of the rear suspension geometry, the overall sanitary appearance of the bike. “Yeah,” said Steve with a laugh, “we can’t really turn out anything half-assed around here.”
Ryan Burke, a MotoAmerica racer and YCRS instructor, picked up the FZR from Steve Long at NJMP, took it with him to Barber and finally arrived in a small Colorado town with the Speedwerks 600 crouched in the back of his dually. After breakfast, Nick swapped it into his own truck for the ride home. Photo by Nick Ienatsch.
Nice to Meet You
The bike arrived in Colorado just as autumn began to turn cold. Like many of you, I have a habit of tearing down every “new-to-me” bike so the FZR came apart for the few things I could do…simple stuff but so very joyful.
Nick Ienatsch is enthusiastic about have “my own racebike in my own garage. Words can’t describe how much fun I’ve had with this FZR and the main reason is how wonderfully Speedwerks made it. It’s not a haggard 33-year-old vintage bike. It’s a shining jewel…at least in my 61-year-old eyes.” Photo by Nick Ienatsch.
Cleaning the rust off the rotors is the type of work Nick’s done since the bike arrived. Photo by Nick Ienatsch.
Yes, I’ve ridden it. Sans bodywork and on the ratty old slicks Speedwerks installed to roll it around the shop, I rode it down my gravel driveway, then two miles on a dirt road to the paved freeway frontage road for a few blasts up and down…and then up and down and up and down a few more times! It ran nicely despite the 5,000 feet of elevation. And when the Bridgestone slicks arrive and are installed, I’ll sneak in a winter track day at Pueblo Motorsports Park or Pikes Peak International Raceway.
Not sure when I’ll race it, but who cares? It’s a treat just to be able to work on.
Skipping the Hard Part
I’ve written this FZR saga because this “starter kit” idea may make sense for you, too. Rather than buy a stock bike and make it a racer or buy an old racer to refurbish, have a proven shop like Speedwerks get you started.
Why? Because there are basics and details that builders like Steve Long know in their sleep; their connections are deep and proven, their decisions forged in the unambiguous world of racing. In this case, Steve cut months if not years off my dream to have my own racer in my own garage.
I’ll get back to you after our first track day together…just me and my very own racebike, finally.
Nick Ienatsch: “I’ve had the pleasure to ride and report on a few of Steve Long’s (left) Speedwerks bikes before; this RGv250 with an RG500 engine was the highlight…so far.” TheSBimage.com photo courtesy Nick Ienatsch.
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame offers its condolences to the family and friends of Ronnie Rall, a top Midwest dirt-track racer in the ’60s and ’70s who passed away on Jan. 20 at the age of 84.
Rall, who was born in Sandusky, Ohio, about 100 miles north of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, began his professional racing career at 21 years old. Three years later he raced to his first of five AMA National wins.
A dedicated farmer, Rall never raced a full schedule of AMA Nationals except for the 1964 season, when he finished a career-best third in the championship.
Despite his limited opportunities, Rall found success, including a win in the 1969 season opener at the Houston Short Track. The race, which was held before a big crowd in the Houston Astrodome, was televised on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
Finishing his national career in 1973 and his local racing career later in the 1970s, Rall retired from racing and continued farming. In retirement, Rall would occasionally participate in vintage events.
Rall was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.
About the American Motorcyclist Association
Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world’s largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders’ interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. Besides offering members money-saving discounts on products and services, the AMA also publishes American Motorcyclist, a recently revitalized and monthly full-color magazine (and digital version of same) that covers current events and motorcycle history with brilliant photography and compelling writing. American Motorcyclist is also North America’s largest-circulation magazine. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit americanmotorcyclist.com.
KTM FACTORY RACING MOTOGP™ TEST TEAM PRIMES THE THROTTLE FOR 2023 AS JONAS FOLGER JOINS THE FOLD
KTM will shortly ignite MotoGP engines for the 2023 season of racing and development as the official test team take to the track for Sepang ‘shakedown’ sessions in Malaysia. The factory will now be able to count on the expertise and input of a three-rider effort behind the scenes as Mika Kallio and Dani Pedrosa will be joined by 29-year-old ex-MotoGP star Jonas Folger for 2023.
The discoveries and progress of the test team filter into the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Grand Prix squad as Brad Binder and Jack Miller subsequently start to mold the 2023 iteration of the KTM RC16 in two official IRTA tests in Malaysia and Portugal during February and March. The test team trio, backed by dedicated engineering staff, will be adding to the workload to get READY TO RACE for the 21-round campaign and to already assess concepts with a view towards 2024.
The crew currently depend on stalwart Mika Kallio, who has led the evolution of the KTM RC16 since the middle of the last decade and who made KTM’s wildcard debut appearance at Valencia for the final round of the 2016 term. Kallio has also made important replacement race outings, most recently for two events in the 2020 campaign and will fulfill an increased role for rider performance coaching.
The Finn has worked alongside MotoGP Legend Dani Pedrosa since 2019. The Spaniard brought his own sensitivity and depth of feeling to the KTM RC16’s story. He came out of retirement to contest the 2021 Grand Prix of Styria at the Red Bull Ring where he claimed a top ten classification. The 37-year-old is confirmed to race once more with a wildcard at the 2023 Gran Premio de España at Jerez in April.
Jonas Folger. Photo courtesy KTM Factory Racing.
Jonas Folger brings further experience and adaptability to the cause. The German completed nine full world championship seasons between 2009 and 2017 and logged a total of 5 victories in 125cc, Moto3™ and Moto2™ categories and 24 visits to a rostrum. The German vaulted to the MotoGP division for 2017 where he impressed as a rookie with a podium finish at the Sachsenring and ended the year 10th in the standings.
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “As the MotoGP season comes closer then the schedule for our test team also comes to life. Not many people see the crucial work these guys are making towards our project but their contribution is essential. For that reason, we have chosen to add Jonas to the team alongside Mika and Dani; who have both already built-up so much knowledge of our race bike and the steps we have made. We know Jonas quite well and he’s briefly ridden our bike before. He knows what it takes to put a motorcycle at the front of a Grand Prix and he is still young and has a lot to contribute. Compared to Dani and Mika he has a different body-type and style and that will also help us with our development. The test team is a fantastic group and I cannot stress enough how much of a strong foundation it makes for our MotoGP racing.”
A Kawasaki bearing the famous #11 will continue to challenge for FIM Endurance World Championship glory in 2023 following confirmation of Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar’s participation in the upcoming EWC season.
Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar is the new name for Webike SRC Kawasaki France, which competed with considerable success in the EWC under Gilles Stafler’s guidance prior to the respected team owner taking the decision to retire at the completion of the 2022 season and put his operation up for sale.
Ryuji Tsuruta recently completed the takeover of Stafler’s SRC team in partnership with the Japanese River Crane (Webike) and Motohouse Co organizations.
With increased backing from Kawasaki Motors Japan, Tsuruta has entered the EWC under the Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar banner but has kept the familiar #11 as well as continuing to count on the services of Randy de Puniet, a member of the SRC rider squad in 2022.
Japan’s Kazuki Watanabe, previously part of the Yoshimura SERT Motul EWC line-up and a rider with recent MotoGP experience, will join de Puniet at Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar along with French rising talent Christophe Ponson.
Meanwhile, SRC Technical Manager Thomas Baudry transfers over to Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar in the same role and will work closely with Sub-Manager Keisuke Nakayama. Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar’s Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR will run on Bridgestone tyres.
Ryuji Tsuruta commented:
“As Team Manager, I will lead the team and participate fully in the FIM Endurance World Championship with the mission of winning the title, said Tsuruta. After Gilles made the decision to retire, we have received his full support and cooperation and that of his staff, while François Ribeiro, Head of Discovery Sports Events, the EWC promoter, Kawasaki France, Kawasaki Europe, Kawasaki Motors Japan and Webike, have supported us with this project.
“It has been 10 years since Trickstar Racing began challenging in the EWC, at Le Mans in 2013, with the aim of becoming the best in the world. We have grown stronger and I hope we continue to grow and become even stronger. We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to the EWC, Kawasaki, Webike and the other sponsors and related parties for giving us the opportunity to take on this challenge.”
AMA Athletes of the Year, AMA Organizers of the Year honored
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association congratulates the winners of its 2022 AMA Racing and Organizer Awards, given to the standout individuals and organizations from AMA-sanctioned competition and recreational endeavors.
AMA members participated in the selection process of certain racing categories while AMA staff selected recipients of the organizational awards.
“We are excited to recognize the recipients of the 2022 AMA Racing and Organizer Awards,” AMA Director of Racing Mike Pelletier said. “The winners earned their recognitions through impressive performances and profound impacts throughout 2022, and we are proud to honor each of them.”
The AMA Athlete of the Year awards went to Kyle Peters (National Championship Series), Trystan Hart (Grand Championship) and Brycen Neal (ATV).
The AMA Veteran/Senior Racer of the Year was Steve McSwain, who was the National Enduro 50+ Champion.
The AMA Youth Racer of the Year award was given to the members of the Junior Motocross World Championship team — Tace Morgan, Maddox Temmerman, Carson Wood, Seth Dennis, Landon Gibson, Casey Cochran and Collin Allen.
Rachael Archer, the Grand National Cross Country Series WXC Bike Class Champion, was named the AMA Female Racer of the Year.
Unlimited Sports MX Inc. (Motocross Organizer of the Year), National Hare and Hound Association (Off-Road Racing Organizer of the Year), Southeastern Short Trackers Ltd. (Track Racing Organizer of the Year) and Mid East Hare Scramble (ATV Organizer of the Year) won organizational awards.
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation was named the Recreational Road Riding Organizer of the Year, and Tri-County Sportsmen MC Inc. earned the Recreational Off-Road Organizer of the Year award.
The AMA Sportsman of the Year went to David Eller for his work rebuilding Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, the home for the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships, after it was devasted by flooding in August of 2021.
Aztalan Cycle Club Inc. (AMA Club of the Year) and Michael Antonovich (AMA Media Award) were also honored.
The full list of winners can be found below.
2022 AMA Racing Award Winners
AMA Athlete of the Year: National Championship Series
Kyle Peters — Arenacross National Championship Series Pro Sport Champion
Brycen Neal — Grand National Cross Country Series XC1 Pro – ATV Class Champion
AMA Veteran/Senior Racer of the Year
Steve McSwain — National Enduro, 50+ Champion
AMA Youth Racer of the Year
Junior Motocross World Champions — Tace Morgan, Maddox Temmerman, Carson Wood, Seth Dennis, Landon Gibson, Casey Cochran, Collin Allen
AMA Female Racer of the Year
Rachael Archer — Grand National Cross Country Series WXC Bike Class Champion
2022 AMA Organizer Award Winners
Motocross Organizer of the Year
Unlimited Sports MX Inc.
Off-Road Racing Organizer of the Year
National Hare and Hound Association
Track Racing Organizer of the Year
Southeastern Short Trackers Ltd.
ATV Organizer of the Year
Mid East Hare Scramble
Recreational Road Riding Organizer of the Year
Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
Recreational Off-Road Organizer of the Year
Tri-County Sportsmen MC Inc.
AMA Club of the Year
Aztalan Cycle Club Inc.
AMA Media Award
Michael Antonovich
AMA Sportsman of the Year
David Eller
About the American Motorcyclist Association
Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world’s largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders’ interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. Besides offering members money-saving discounts on products and services, the AMA also publishes American Motorcyclist, a recently revitalized and monthly full-color magazine (and digital version of same) that covers current events and motorcycle history with brilliant photography and compelling writing. American Motorcyclist is also North America’s largest-circulation magazine. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit americanmotorcyclist.com.
Not a member? Join the AMA today: americanmotorcyclist.com.
On the Front Cover: After a season struggling with injuries, Marc Márquez looked to be
back to normal on a prototype Honda RC213V during post-season
MotoGP testing at Valencia. Photo by Gigi Soldano/DPPI Media.
Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology is THE definitive source for motorcycle racing, riding, and tech information.
—
Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology magazine is available in print and digital formats. SUBSCRIBE NOW. Or call (909) 654-4779 to subscribe, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.
Log in HERE to read the February 2023 issue of Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology with your online subscription.
FEBRUARY 2023 ISSUE
FEATURES
Inside Info: BMW U.S. Sales Up By 10%, Ducati U.S. Sales Down, Damon
Claims It Has $100 Million In Pre-orders, $250,000 Loudon Classic Purse
Immediately Draws 65+ Entries, And More…
Army Of Darkness: The Racing River Rolls On In 2022, Part Two
COLUMNS
Letters To The Editor: Setting Up A Trailer For Track Days, and Crash Page
Corrections
Editor’s Scrapbook: Riders Seen At AMA Pro National At Mid-Ohio, 1986
10 Years Ago, February 2013: On The Cover, Jonathan Rea Leads in WSBK On A Honda; Mat Oxley Tells How Mick Doohan Almost Lost A Leg, Then Won More; Marc
Márquez Was Under The Record After Three Days On A MotoGP Honda
The Kids’ Page: Brayden Fager
The Crash Page: Moto2 Teammates Crash At Valencia
New Products: Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP Tires/Arai Contour-X Helmet
Racing, School, & Track Day Calendar: Where & When To Ride
AHRMA announces new headmaster for road racing academy
(February 3, Knoxville, TN) Arthur Kowitz has been appointed headmaster for the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) Academy of Roadracing (AAR).
“With our current financial position in mind we are pleased that (our treasurer) Arthur offered to take the helm of the AAR for the 2023 season at no cost and share his decades of track knowledge with new racers,” said Brian Larrabure, Chairman of the AHRMA Board of Trustees.
The AAR was developed by experienced racers to share valuable techniques of road racing historic and modern motorcycles and sidecars on the challenging circuits of America. Students receive one-on-one coaching as well as participate in a mock race including race start and finish.
Kowitz is a former expert-level AMA Superbike, FIM F1 and TTXGP racer. From 1981 to 2018 he competed in five Daytona 200 races.
Kowitz takes over from former AAR headmaster Mark Morrow who advanced road racing instruction to a new level for racers joining the AHRMA family.
“Mark made great contributions to AHRMA by helping many new racers safely learn their way around a track and we really appreciate all he does for AHRMA,” Larrabure said.
Students participating in the AAR will often be riding a variety of motorcycles from small-displacement bikes from the 1960s to Superbikes from the 70s and 80s and even high-powered modern singles, twins, and triples.
“Arthur’s direct racing experience on both vintage and modern race bikes makes him a great fit for the new AAR headmaster,” Larrabure said.
By completing the AAR, new racers gain information and experience that helps them in racing conditions and are qualified to participate in AHRMA road racing events. The AAR curriculum also satisfies licensing requirements for other racing organizations across the country.
The 2023 AAR will be offered at these Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing Series events:
2/17/2023 Roebling Road Raceway, Bloomingdale, GA
3/17/2023 Carolina Motorsports Park, Kershaw, SC
5/26/2023 Heartland Motorsports Park, Topeka, KS
6/2/2023 Motorsports Park Hastings, Hastings, NE
6/23/2023 New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, NJ
7/28/2023 Gingerman Motorsports Park, South Haven, MI
8/4/2023 Blackhawk Farms Raceway, South Beloit, IL
9/8/2023, Talladega GP Raceway, Munford, AL
*To be confirmed
About AHRMA
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to competing on fantastic classic and true vintage along with a wide range of modern motorcycles. With about 3,300 members, AHRMA is the largest vintage racing group in North America and one of the biggest in the world. The association has grown steadily over the years, reflecting the increasing interest in classic bikes.
3, 2, 1… Shakedown! MotoGP™ factories head for Sepang
The first track action of the season sees factory test riders and our 2023 rookie head out for three days of Shakedown Testing
Friday, 03 February 2023
The time has come… or almost! Ahead of the official Sepang Test from the 10th to the 12th of February, the MotoGP™ factories – and our 2023 rookie – will be out on track for the Shakedown from the 5th to the 7th. The Shakedown also takes place at the majestic and usefully varied Sepang International Circuit, and it will be our first taste of the blockbuster, record-breaking season we have in store for 2023.
So, the rookie. Premier class debutants are allowed to take part in the Shakedown and this season, that means GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 newcomer Augusto Fernandez. The reigning Moto2™ Champion is the sole rookie and will enjoy the three days of track time to get acquainted following his debut in the Valencia test in November, and he’ll be joined by the factory test riders.
That means it’s Michele Pirro out for Ducati as the Ducati Lenovo Team look to begin their defence of not one, not two, but three titles, aka that coveted triple crown. Yamaha, meanwhile, are expected to field three test riders – Cal Crutchlow, Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Kohta Nozane – as they look to take back to the top.
For Aprilia, we can expect Lorenzo Savadori on duty as the Noale factory head into new territory in their post-concession world, and at Honda Stefan Bradl will take the reins. The Japanese factory will be looking for a step forward and to lay some big groundwork for progress ahead of handing the RC213V back to Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), new stablemate Joan Mir and LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami and the incoming Alex Rins.
KTM have two riders set to take to the track: MotoGP™ Legend Dani Pedrosa, who also recently confirmed the Spanish GP wildcard first revealed by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager Francesco Guidotti, and long-time test rider Mika Kallio. The Austrian factory also have Jonas Folger on the books for 2023, so will the German take to the track at the Shakedown? We’re about to find out!
The action runs from 10:00 to 18:00 for the Shakedown, and there’s no live timing but motogp.com will have an end-of-day round up report after each day. There’ll also be a selection of photos and social updates across the event as we get in gear for the Sepang Test proper, so stay tuned for a report and photo selection on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday!
Tickets Now on Sale for Progressive American Flat Track’s Return to Daytona International Speedway for ‘23 Bike Week Season Opener
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Progressive American Flat Track revives Daytona Bike Week tradition with the 2023 season opener returning to the Flat Track at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 9 and Friday, March 10, 2023. The DAYTONA Short Track will feature two back-to-back nights of bar-banging racing under the lights at one of the most iconic racing arenas in the history of the sport.
Coming off the heels of last season’s spectacular five-way title fight, the 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season ranks among the most highly anticipated in recent memory. Reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champion Jared Mees will look to continue his historic run. But to do so, he’ll once again have to go through the most talented collection of motorcycle dirt track racers in the world – including the likes of Briar Bauman, Dallas Daniels, JD Beach, and Brandon Robinson.
This season’s DAYTONA Short Track I & II resumes a hallowed tradition that saw the high-profile event serve as the opening round of the Championship from 1989 through 2016, with doubleheaders becoming the norm in 2006.
Over the decades, the DAYTONA opener frequently saw the sport’s leading stars shine the brightest, with Hall of Famers Scott Parker, Chris Carr, Will Davis, and Kenny Coolbeth all earning wins in Daytona. However, the event is just as renowned for the unpredictable racing it has regularly produced. Several riders have scored upsets to secure their first-career premier-class victories there, including the aforementioned Bauman and Robinson. One rider yet to triumph at the venue, however, is Mees, who hopes to scratch off one of the few remaining unfilled achievements still left on his scorecard.
The atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric. A half-million motorcyclists are once again expected to descend on Daytona Beach for this year’s 82nd annual Daytona Bike Week, and the DAYTONA Short Track I & II is primed to be one of the world’s largest motorcycle event’s premier attractions.
A range of ticket options are available now, now starting at $25 each night, including Upper Rim Road – Standing Room Only, Reserved Grandstand, and Accessible Seating.
And for an additional $40 ($20 for kids under 12) per night, Paddock Access Upgrades provide all-day access to the pits where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport.
FOX Sports and FansChoice.tv are the official homes for coverage of Progressive American Flat Track. For the 2023 season, all races will premiere in one-hour telecasts on FS1 during highly desirable weekend time slots. The complete schedule can be viewed at https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports. FansChoice.tv provides livestreaming coverage of every Progressive AFT round at http://www.FansChoice.tv.
About Progressive American Flat Track
Progressive American Flat Track 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.
Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow (T2) was quickest on Day One of the MotoGP "Shakedown Test" at Sepang. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Yamaha fastest as Sepang Shakedown kicks off 2023
Crutchlow tops the opening day in Malaysia as new parts surface from several factories
Sunday, 05 February 2023
MotoGP™ bikes are back on track! The 2023 campaign has resumed with test riders and our sole premier class rookie, Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3), completing a rain-affected opening day of the Sepang Shakedown test. Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow topped the timesheets with a 2:01.146, although it’s less about laptimes and more about track time in the first few days of action this year.
YAMAHA
Three-time Grand Prix winner Crutchlow had three YZR-M1s at his disposal – two 2023 spec bikes, one 2022 spec machine. The main focus was pinpointed on Yamaha’s new, more aggressive engine which was a hot topic of conversation back in Valencia. Glancing at the timesheets, it looks like the problem that arose at the end of last year, causing some puzzled looks after clear improvements had been proven at earlier tests, has been diagnosed.
Crutchlow clocked a 330km/h top speed according to the circuit’s live timing, just a couple of kms shy of the fastest. In addition, looking back at the 2022 Sepang Test, Yamaha’s fastest top speed was 327km/h – early indications that progress has been made. That’ll be music to the ears of Fabio Quartararo and his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ teammate Franco Morbidelli ahead of the Official Sepang Test.
Cal Crutchlow (T3). Photo courtesy Dorna.
KTM
New KTM testing recruit Jonas Folger joined MotoGP™ Legend Dani Pedrosa on track for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing as the German got to grips with the RC16 for the first time. Pedrosa, meanwhile, was working with Jack Miller’s crew on the opening day.
Dani Pedrosa (26). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Jonas Folger walks to his KTM RC16. Photo courtesy Dorna.
GASGAS
Reigning Moto2™ World Champion Fernandez was back out with GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 and having had no plans for the Valencia Test apart from trying a MotoGP™ bike for the first time, these three days will be vital for the Spaniard to start making the bike his own. The number 37 finished second on the timesheets with a 2:01.331, just 0.185s from Crutchlow’s best effort.
Augusto Fernandez (37). Photo courtesy Dorna.
HONDA
Stefan Bradl was lapping for HRC and the German had two RC213Vs in the box. Bradl was out on a new-look Honda machine dressed in redesigned aero, a new exhaust and the 2023 engine. Bradl’s best time was a 2:01.605, placing him fourth on the timesheets.
Stefan Bradl (6). Photo courtesy Dorna.
APRILIA
Lorenzo Savadori was on hand to give the 2023 Aprilia RS-GPs a shakedown, and it was a busy day for the Italian who had six bikes to ride. Aprilia debuted some new aero – something we’ll be seeing plenty of from the factories during pre-season – as Savadori also suffered a technical issue towards the end of the day.
Lorenzo Savadori (32). Photo courtesy Dorna.
DUCATI
Ducati’s trusted Michele Pirro was again putting in the groundwork for the reigning World Champions, who head into the season looking to defend not one, not two, but three Championships.
The Borgo Panigale factory opened their 2023 account with a new fairing to show off, and Pirro worked with two GP23s. The Italian posted a 2:02.115 best lap time.
Michele Pirro (51). Photo courtesy Dorna.
With temperatures soaring in Malaysia, coupled with a dirty track surface following the winter and then rain coming later in the day, times were around three seconds slower than what we saw at the 2022 Malaysian GP. Expect the times to tumble the further we get into testing at Sepang!
Come back for more Shakedown on Monday and keep up to date with all the goings on on motogp.com and across social media!
Nick Ienatsch, talking about his Project Bike. "Yamaha FZR600…produced in 1990, remade 33 years later. I raced one then, and I own one now." Photo by Nick Ienatsch.
FIRST PERSON/OPINION:
By Nick Ienatsch
Despite racing motorcycles since 1989, I never possessed my racebike. Sure, I owned a few of my TZ250s but they never lived at my house, always staying with my tuner Steve Biganski or at Zero Gravity. We’d meet at the track, race, and then go our separate ways. The other bikes I raced in Willow Springs, WERA and AMA Pro competition belonged to the shops that built them.
Lately I’ve raced Rusty Bigley’s Spondon TZ750, Chris Carr’s GPz550 built by Hypercycle’s Carry Andrew, Carry’s Z1, and most notably a trick Honda NSR250 built by Speedwerks’s Steve Long and crew.
I write “notably” because Steve Long and I have enjoyed amazingly similar motorcycle lives even though we live almost a continent apart; we grew up in motorcycling together but separately. Steve places “consistently fast lap times while looking pretty” as the top priority of his builds and loaned me his NSR250 for the AHRMA finals at Barber a few years ago; since he wasn’t there, I tuned and rode it. It was a blast.
On the phone from Barber I told Steve about my desire to “have my very own racebike” someday. “What would you want?” Steve asked.
Great question, so I made a list:
–Something I could maintain myself
–Something that started with the push of a button
–Something that fit into an AHRMA (ahrma.org) class
–Something on 17-inch wheels for good tire selection
–A balance of entry speed and exit horsepower
–Something I could afford…and afford to crash
–Something reliable so I could actually ride, not constantly repair
During discussions the choice became clear: A 1989-1993 Yamaha FZR600. I’d successfully raced one at Willow and in AMA Pro. They were tough, fairly well-balanced, affordable, are now AHRMA legal…and Speedwerks had “a pile of that crap sitting around,” according to Steve.
A shot from the way-back machine…Nick Ienatsch at Willow Springs in 1989 with FZR600 and FZR400 raecbikes built by Kerker’s Steve Johnson. These good times make the Speedwerks 600 more precious. Photo courtesy NI Collection.
A Plan
A simple plan was devised. Speedwerks would get me started on the FZR600 and I would finish it in my very own garage.
Steve had questions about what prep Speedwerks should do and what I could do.
“Can you assemble a stock engine?” he asked.
“No.”
“Can you do the transmission?”
“No.”
“Can you modify the stock forks?”
“No.”
“Can you install aftermarket bodywork.”
“Good Lord, no.”
Fairly quickly Steve realized the direction of the build and asked, “Well…what can you do?”
Another good question. Truthfully, there’s nothing I can do in my garage better than the Speedwerks crew. However, I can clean parts, paint with a spray can, safety-wire stuff despite constant drill-bit breaking, change tires and oil, adjust valves unless the cams need to come out, bleed brakes, unbolt and bolt stuff, install chains, lubricate and maintain pieces and parts. I had to admit that my main mechanical strong point is enthusiasm.
It was a pretty short answer. “Not much” is how Steve summed it up. We laughed. We laugh about a lot of things.
“OK,” Steve sighed. “We’ll get you started with something.”
“I Threw Together a Bunch of Crap”
Steve’s friend Josh Deery knew of a worn and inexpensive FZR600 racebike in Pennsylvania so Speedwerks’s shipper Simon Tack grabbed it. It was a great find, but the crew soon discovered the engine was “beyond tired.” Steve, with a few phone calls, found another FZR in North Carolina and that bike’s stock engine had good compression and the stock carbs and airbox were intact and functional. We decided not to mod anything, just run it stock for reliability.
The tired 1990 FZR600 that Speedwerks unearthed to get this project started. Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
Then Steve’s crew of son Seth and Super Dave Trotter pulled the tired parts off, bolting on brand-new Beasley Composites fiberglass http://beasleycomposites.com , an old Vance & Hines header pipe matched to an Scorpion muffler that “was hanging on the wall,” spliced together with extensive handywork by Super Dave.
The team swapped out the stock rear-suspension linkage dogbones for GSX-R SRAD aluminum pieces so an SV650 17-inch rear wheel would work with an Öhlins shock. Yes, an Öhlins! Gave a whole new meaning to the term “Öhlins shock” when I heard about it.
“Yeah,” Steve said, “it’s a GSX-R1000 shock we had here. Dave modified and resprung it to get it set-up with the right swingarm angle and ride height. What color wheels do you want? I’ve got about a dozen SV wheels in various colors.
“Do you care if we run some inexpensive Chinese rearsets and clip-ons?” Nick Ienatsch didn’t mind. Note the new #528 chain and Öhlins shock in the background. These footpegs were made for a SV650 but Super Dave Trotter grafted them onto the FZR. Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
“We’re using the stock forks due to budget, but Super Dave added Race Tech Emulators https://racetech.com and massaged the bottoms and rebound damping holes. We threw some 9.25 springs in.
“Had a set of early-R6 calipers out in the dumpster, so they’re on the FZR now. Seth dug around in another pile of trash and found some good pads.”
Those were the messages, delivered with Steve’s understated sarcasm, and each of them came with a picture or two of the bike in various states of disarray. My excitement was at a fever pitch.
Remember these Factory case covers? This is the type of stuff Steve Long has “getting kicked around the shop, in the way.” Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
If pressed, I couldn’t truthfully answer the question: “Are you more excited to work on it or ride it?” I prepared a parts list, maintenance log, and started studying videos on “how to paint bikes in your garage.” The bike was still in Delaware, but I was beyond ready in Colorado.
Steve Long’s Main Flaw
On a Tuesday morning I got a text from Speedwerks, “Got some pics, want to see?”
“Send them!”
Two minutes later Steve sent me a link to a photo portfolio labeled “Nick’s Racebike.” I literally couldn’t believe it. The FZR looked stunning! Done. Ready to race. Beyond anything I ever expected and far beyond anything I had imagined or hoped for. Remember, I raced these things back in the day and they never looked this good. I couldn’t stop smiling.
Steve Long dug around the Speedwerks shop and found “the last Graves Motorsports FZR fairing stay in existence” and brought it into the modern world with a Koso voltmeter matched to a Koso coolant-temp sensor mounted in the stock ignition-key location. A steering damper was added in an out-of-harm’s-way location. Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
I immediately called and after stammering over the appearance of the bike, my first question was, “What happened to our plan of you starting it and me finishing it?”
Painter Dave Arnold worked his magic on the Beasely bodywork, producing a show-bike finish on a 33-year-old bike. Arnold, like Steve Long, is an enthusiast and is producing a custom bike to raffle for a veterans’ program. Photo courtesy Speedwerks.
“Yeah,” Steve answered, “we just got rolling on it and Dave Arnold, our painter, sprayed it grey and then I got Jeff at Inline4Designs and Print https://www.inline4designs.xyz/ to do the graphics. You said you liked grey with a yellow highlight, so there it is.”
I was speechless. My “starter kit” had turned into one of the neatest racebikes I’d ever seen. In 20 years I could not have reached this level, not only in quality but the inventiveness of the paint and graphics, the correctness of the rear suspension geometry, the overall sanitary appearance of the bike. “Yeah,” said Steve with a laugh, “we can’t really turn out anything half-assed around here.”
Ryan Burke, a MotoAmerica racer and YCRS instructor, picked up the FZR from Steve Long at NJMP, took it with him to Barber and finally arrived in a small Colorado town with the Speedwerks 600 crouched in the back of his dually. After breakfast, Nick swapped it into his own truck for the ride home. Photo by Nick Ienatsch.
Nice to Meet You
The bike arrived in Colorado just as autumn began to turn cold. Like many of you, I have a habit of tearing down every “new-to-me” bike so the FZR came apart for the few things I could do…simple stuff but so very joyful.
Nick Ienatsch is enthusiastic about have “my own racebike in my own garage. Words can’t describe how much fun I’ve had with this FZR and the main reason is how wonderfully Speedwerks made it. It’s not a haggard 33-year-old vintage bike. It’s a shining jewel…at least in my 61-year-old eyes.” Photo by Nick Ienatsch.
Cleaning the rust off the rotors is the type of work Nick’s done since the bike arrived. Photo by Nick Ienatsch.
Yes, I’ve ridden it. Sans bodywork and on the ratty old slicks Speedwerks installed to roll it around the shop, I rode it down my gravel driveway, then two miles on a dirt road to the paved freeway frontage road for a few blasts up and down…and then up and down and up and down a few more times! It ran nicely despite the 5,000 feet of elevation. And when the Bridgestone slicks arrive and are installed, I’ll sneak in a winter track day at Pueblo Motorsports Park or Pikes Peak International Raceway.
Not sure when I’ll race it, but who cares? It’s a treat just to be able to work on.
Skipping the Hard Part
I’ve written this FZR saga because this “starter kit” idea may make sense for you, too. Rather than buy a stock bike and make it a racer or buy an old racer to refurbish, have a proven shop like Speedwerks get you started.
Why? Because there are basics and details that builders like Steve Long know in their sleep; their connections are deep and proven, their decisions forged in the unambiguous world of racing. In this case, Steve cut months if not years off my dream to have my own racer in my own garage.
I’ll get back to you after our first track day together…just me and my very own racebike, finally.
Nick Ienatsch: “I’ve had the pleasure to ride and report on a few of Steve Long’s (left) Speedwerks bikes before; this RGv250 with an RG500 engine was the highlight…so far.” TheSBimage.com photo courtesy Nick Ienatsch.
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame offers its condolences to the family and friends of Ronnie Rall, a top Midwest dirt-track racer in the ’60s and ’70s who passed away on Jan. 20 at the age of 84.
Rall, who was born in Sandusky, Ohio, about 100 miles north of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, began his professional racing career at 21 years old. Three years later he raced to his first of five AMA National wins.
A dedicated farmer, Rall never raced a full schedule of AMA Nationals except for the 1964 season, when he finished a career-best third in the championship.
Despite his limited opportunities, Rall found success, including a win in the 1969 season opener at the Houston Short Track. The race, which was held before a big crowd in the Houston Astrodome, was televised on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
Finishing his national career in 1973 and his local racing career later in the 1970s, Rall retired from racing and continued farming. In retirement, Rall would occasionally participate in vintage events.
Rall was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.
About the American Motorcyclist Association
Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world’s largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders’ interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. Besides offering members money-saving discounts on products and services, the AMA also publishes American Motorcyclist, a recently revitalized and monthly full-color magazine (and digital version of same) that covers current events and motorcycle history with brilliant photography and compelling writing. American Motorcyclist is also North America’s largest-circulation magazine. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit americanmotorcyclist.com.
A 2023 Red Bull KTM RC16 factory MotoGP racebike. Photo courtesy KTM Factory Racing.
KTM FACTORY RACING MOTOGP™ TEST TEAM PRIMES THE THROTTLE FOR 2023 AS JONAS FOLGER JOINS THE FOLD
KTM will shortly ignite MotoGP engines for the 2023 season of racing and development as the official test team take to the track for Sepang ‘shakedown’ sessions in Malaysia. The factory will now be able to count on the expertise and input of a three-rider effort behind the scenes as Mika Kallio and Dani Pedrosa will be joined by 29-year-old ex-MotoGP star Jonas Folger for 2023.
The discoveries and progress of the test team filter into the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Grand Prix squad as Brad Binder and Jack Miller subsequently start to mold the 2023 iteration of the KTM RC16 in two official IRTA tests in Malaysia and Portugal during February and March. The test team trio, backed by dedicated engineering staff, will be adding to the workload to get READY TO RACE for the 21-round campaign and to already assess concepts with a view towards 2024.
The crew currently depend on stalwart Mika Kallio, who has led the evolution of the KTM RC16 since the middle of the last decade and who made KTM’s wildcard debut appearance at Valencia for the final round of the 2016 term. Kallio has also made important replacement race outings, most recently for two events in the 2020 campaign and will fulfill an increased role for rider performance coaching.
The Finn has worked alongside MotoGP Legend Dani Pedrosa since 2019. The Spaniard brought his own sensitivity and depth of feeling to the KTM RC16’s story. He came out of retirement to contest the 2021 Grand Prix of Styria at the Red Bull Ring where he claimed a top ten classification. The 37-year-old is confirmed to race once more with a wildcard at the 2023 Gran Premio de España at Jerez in April.
Jonas Folger. Photo courtesy KTM Factory Racing.
Jonas Folger brings further experience and adaptability to the cause. The German completed nine full world championship seasons between 2009 and 2017 and logged a total of 5 victories in 125cc, Moto3™ and Moto2™ categories and 24 visits to a rostrum. The German vaulted to the MotoGP division for 2017 where he impressed as a rookie with a podium finish at the Sachsenring and ended the year 10th in the standings.
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “As the MotoGP season comes closer then the schedule for our test team also comes to life. Not many people see the crucial work these guys are making towards our project but their contribution is essential. For that reason, we have chosen to add Jonas to the team alongside Mika and Dani; who have both already built-up so much knowledge of our race bike and the steps we have made. We know Jonas quite well and he’s briefly ridden our bike before. He knows what it takes to put a motorcycle at the front of a Grand Prix and he is still young and has a lot to contribute. Compared to Dani and Mika he has a different body-type and style and that will also help us with our development. The test team is a fantastic group and I cannot stress enough how much of a strong foundation it makes for our MotoGP racing.”
Webike SRC Kawasaki France (1) becomes Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar for 2023 with increased backing from Kawasaki and a talented three-rider team. Photo courtesy Kawasaki. Photo courtesy Webike SRC Kawasaki France.
Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar is Go for EWC 2023
A Kawasaki bearing the famous #11 will continue to challenge for FIM Endurance World Championship glory in 2023 following confirmation of Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar’s participation in the upcoming EWC season.
Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar is the new name for Webike SRC Kawasaki France, which competed with considerable success in the EWC under Gilles Stafler’s guidance prior to the respected team owner taking the decision to retire at the completion of the 2022 season and put his operation up for sale.
Ryuji Tsuruta recently completed the takeover of Stafler’s SRC team in partnership with the Japanese River Crane (Webike) and Motohouse Co organizations.
With increased backing from Kawasaki Motors Japan, Tsuruta has entered the EWC under the Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar banner but has kept the familiar #11 as well as continuing to count on the services of Randy de Puniet, a member of the SRC rider squad in 2022.
Japan’s Kazuki Watanabe, previously part of the Yoshimura SERT Motul EWC line-up and a rider with recent MotoGP experience, will join de Puniet at Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar along with French rising talent Christophe Ponson.
Meanwhile, SRC Technical Manager Thomas Baudry transfers over to Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar in the same role and will work closely with Sub-Manager Keisuke Nakayama. Team Kawasaki Webike Trickstar’s Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR will run on Bridgestone tyres.
Ryuji Tsuruta commented:
“As Team Manager, I will lead the team and participate fully in the FIM Endurance World Championship with the mission of winning the title, said Tsuruta. After Gilles made the decision to retire, we have received his full support and cooperation and that of his staff, while François Ribeiro, Head of Discovery Sports Events, the EWC promoter, Kawasaki France, Kawasaki Europe, Kawasaki Motors Japan and Webike, have supported us with this project.
“It has been 10 years since Trickstar Racing began challenging in the EWC, at Le Mans in 2013, with the aim of becoming the best in the world. We have grown stronger and I hope we continue to grow and become even stronger. We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to the EWC, Kawasaki, Webike and the other sponsors and related parties for giving us the opportunity to take on this challenge.”
AMA Media Award winner Michael Antonovich (left) receiving his honor from AMA Director of Racing Mike Pelletier (right). Photo courtesy AMA.
2022 AMA Racing and Organizer Awards Announced
AMA Athletes of the Year, AMA Organizers of the Year honored
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association congratulates the winners of its 2022 AMA Racing and Organizer Awards, given to the standout individuals and organizations from AMA-sanctioned competition and recreational endeavors.
AMA members participated in the selection process of certain racing categories while AMA staff selected recipients of the organizational awards.
“We are excited to recognize the recipients of the 2022 AMA Racing and Organizer Awards,” AMA Director of Racing Mike Pelletier said. “The winners earned their recognitions through impressive performances and profound impacts throughout 2022, and we are proud to honor each of them.”
The AMA Athlete of the Year awards went to Kyle Peters (National Championship Series), Trystan Hart (Grand Championship) and Brycen Neal (ATV).
The AMA Veteran/Senior Racer of the Year was Steve McSwain, who was the National Enduro 50+ Champion.
The AMA Youth Racer of the Year award was given to the members of the Junior Motocross World Championship team — Tace Morgan, Maddox Temmerman, Carson Wood, Seth Dennis, Landon Gibson, Casey Cochran and Collin Allen.
Rachael Archer, the Grand National Cross Country Series WXC Bike Class Champion, was named the AMA Female Racer of the Year.
Unlimited Sports MX Inc. (Motocross Organizer of the Year), National Hare and Hound Association (Off-Road Racing Organizer of the Year), Southeastern Short Trackers Ltd. (Track Racing Organizer of the Year) and Mid East Hare Scramble (ATV Organizer of the Year) won organizational awards.
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation was named the Recreational Road Riding Organizer of the Year, and Tri-County Sportsmen MC Inc. earned the Recreational Off-Road Organizer of the Year award.
The AMA Sportsman of the Year went to David Eller for his work rebuilding Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, the home for the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships, after it was devasted by flooding in August of 2021.
Aztalan Cycle Club Inc. (AMA Club of the Year) and Michael Antonovich (AMA Media Award) were also honored.
The full list of winners can be found below.
2022 AMA Racing Award Winners
AMA Athlete of the Year: National Championship Series
Kyle Peters — Arenacross National Championship Series Pro Sport Champion
Brycen Neal — Grand National Cross Country Series XC1 Pro – ATV Class Champion
AMA Veteran/Senior Racer of the Year
Steve McSwain — National Enduro, 50+ Champion
AMA Youth Racer of the Year
Junior Motocross World Champions — Tace Morgan, Maddox Temmerman, Carson Wood, Seth Dennis, Landon Gibson, Casey Cochran, Collin Allen
AMA Female Racer of the Year
Rachael Archer — Grand National Cross Country Series WXC Bike Class Champion
2022 AMA Organizer Award Winners
Motocross Organizer of the Year
Unlimited Sports MX Inc.
Off-Road Racing Organizer of the Year
National Hare and Hound Association
Track Racing Organizer of the Year
Southeastern Short Trackers Ltd.
ATV Organizer of the Year
Mid East Hare Scramble
Recreational Road Riding Organizer of the Year
Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
Recreational Off-Road Organizer of the Year
Tri-County Sportsmen MC Inc.
AMA Club of the Year
Aztalan Cycle Club Inc.
AMA Media Award
Michael Antonovich
AMA Sportsman of the Year
David Eller
About the American Motorcyclist Association
Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world’s largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders’ interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. Besides offering members money-saving discounts on products and services, the AMA also publishes American Motorcyclist, a recently revitalized and monthly full-color magazine (and digital version of same) that covers current events and motorcycle history with brilliant photography and compelling writing. American Motorcyclist is also North America’s largest-circulation magazine. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling. For more information, visit americanmotorcyclist.com.
Not a member? Join the AMA today: americanmotorcyclist.com.
On the Front Cover: After a season struggling with injuries, Marc Márquez looked to be
back to normal on a prototype Honda RC213V during post-season
MotoGP testing at Valencia. Photo by Gigi Soldano/DPPI Media.
Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology is THE definitive source for motorcycle racing, riding, and tech information.
—
Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology magazine is available in print and digital formats. SUBSCRIBE NOW. Or call (909) 654-4779 to subscribe, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.
Log in HERE to read the February 2023 issue of Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology with your online subscription.
FEBRUARY 2023 ISSUE
FEATURES
Inside Info: BMW U.S. Sales Up By 10%, Ducati U.S. Sales Down, Damon
Claims It Has $100 Million In Pre-orders, $250,000 Loudon Classic Purse
Immediately Draws 65+ Entries, And More…
Army Of Darkness: The Racing River Rolls On In 2022, Part Two
COLUMNS
Letters To The Editor: Setting Up A Trailer For Track Days, and Crash Page
Corrections
Editor’s Scrapbook: Riders Seen At AMA Pro National At Mid-Ohio, 1986
10 Years Ago, February 2013: On The Cover, Jonathan Rea Leads in WSBK On A Honda; Mat Oxley Tells How Mick Doohan Almost Lost A Leg, Then Won More; Marc
Márquez Was Under The Record After Three Days On A MotoGP Honda
The Kids’ Page: Brayden Fager
The Crash Page: Moto2 Teammates Crash At Valencia
New Products: Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP Tires/Arai Contour-X Helmet
Racing, School, & Track Day Calendar: Where & When To Ride
Former AMA Superbike Pro and current AHRMA racer Arthur Kowitz (179) in action. Photo by Superbike Photography, courtesy AHRMA.
AHRMA announces new headmaster for road racing academy
(February 3, Knoxville, TN) Arthur Kowitz has been appointed headmaster for the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) Academy of Roadracing (AAR).
“With our current financial position in mind we are pleased that (our treasurer) Arthur offered to take the helm of the AAR for the 2023 season at no cost and share his decades of track knowledge with new racers,” said Brian Larrabure, Chairman of the AHRMA Board of Trustees.
The AAR was developed by experienced racers to share valuable techniques of road racing historic and modern motorcycles and sidecars on the challenging circuits of America. Students receive one-on-one coaching as well as participate in a mock race including race start and finish.
Kowitz is a former expert-level AMA Superbike, FIM F1 and TTXGP racer. From 1981 to 2018 he competed in five Daytona 200 races.
Kowitz takes over from former AAR headmaster Mark Morrow who advanced road racing instruction to a new level for racers joining the AHRMA family.
“Mark made great contributions to AHRMA by helping many new racers safely learn their way around a track and we really appreciate all he does for AHRMA,” Larrabure said.
Students participating in the AAR will often be riding a variety of motorcycles from small-displacement bikes from the 1960s to Superbikes from the 70s and 80s and even high-powered modern singles, twins, and triples.
“Arthur’s direct racing experience on both vintage and modern race bikes makes him a great fit for the new AAR headmaster,” Larrabure said.
By completing the AAR, new racers gain information and experience that helps them in racing conditions and are qualified to participate in AHRMA road racing events. The AAR curriculum also satisfies licensing requirements for other racing organizations across the country.
The 2023 AAR will be offered at these Bridgestone Tires AHRMA Roadracing Series events:
2/17/2023 Roebling Road Raceway, Bloomingdale, GA
3/17/2023 Carolina Motorsports Park, Kershaw, SC
5/26/2023 Heartland Motorsports Park, Topeka, KS
6/2/2023 Motorsports Park Hastings, Hastings, NE
6/23/2023 New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, NJ
7/28/2023 Gingerman Motorsports Park, South Haven, MI
8/4/2023 Blackhawk Farms Raceway, South Beloit, IL
9/8/2023, Talladega GP Raceway, Munford, AL
*To be confirmed
About AHRMA
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to competing on fantastic classic and true vintage along with a wide range of modern motorcycles. With about 3,300 members, AHRMA is the largest vintage racing group in North America and one of the biggest in the world. The association has grown steadily over the years, reflecting the increasing interest in classic bikes.
Stefan Bradl testing a Honda RC213V in February 2022 at Sepang. Photo courtesy Dorna.
3, 2, 1… Shakedown! MotoGP™ factories head for Sepang
The first track action of the season sees factory test riders and our 2023 rookie head out for three days of Shakedown Testing
Friday, 03 February 2023
The time has come… or almost! Ahead of the official Sepang Test from the 10th to the 12th of February, the MotoGP™ factories – and our 2023 rookie – will be out on track for the Shakedown from the 5th to the 7th. The Shakedown also takes place at the majestic and usefully varied Sepang International Circuit, and it will be our first taste of the blockbuster, record-breaking season we have in store for 2023.
So, the rookie. Premier class debutants are allowed to take part in the Shakedown and this season, that means GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3 newcomer Augusto Fernandez. The reigning Moto2™ Champion is the sole rookie and will enjoy the three days of track time to get acquainted following his debut in the Valencia test in November, and he’ll be joined by the factory test riders.
That means it’s Michele Pirro out for Ducati as the Ducati Lenovo Team look to begin their defence of not one, not two, but three titles, aka that coveted triple crown. Yamaha, meanwhile, are expected to field three test riders – Cal Crutchlow, Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Kohta Nozane – as they look to take back to the top.
For Aprilia, we can expect Lorenzo Savadori on duty as the Noale factory head into new territory in their post-concession world, and at Honda Stefan Bradl will take the reins. The Japanese factory will be looking for a step forward and to lay some big groundwork for progress ahead of handing the RC213V back to Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), new stablemate Joan Mir and LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami and the incoming Alex Rins.
KTM have two riders set to take to the track: MotoGP™ Legend Dani Pedrosa, who also recently confirmed the Spanish GP wildcard first revealed by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager Francesco Guidotti, and long-time test rider Mika Kallio. The Austrian factory also have Jonas Folger on the books for 2023, so will the German take to the track at the Shakedown? We’re about to find out!
The action runs from 10:00 to 18:00 for the Shakedown, and there’s no live timing but motogp.com will have an end-of-day round up report after each day. There’ll also be a selection of photos and social updates across the event as we get in gear for the Sepang Test proper, so stay tuned for a report and photo selection on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday!
Jared Mees (9) leading the SuperTwins main event at Daytona Short Track II in 2020. Photo by Scott Hunter courtesy AFT.
Tickets Now on Sale for Progressive American Flat Track’s Return to Daytona International Speedway for ‘23 Bike Week Season Opener
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Progressive American Flat Track revives Daytona Bike Week tradition with the 2023 season opener returning to the Flat Track at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 9 and Friday, March 10, 2023. The DAYTONA Short Track will feature two back-to-back nights of bar-banging racing under the lights at one of the most iconic racing arenas in the history of the sport.
Coming off the heels of last season’s spectacular five-way title fight, the 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season ranks among the most highly anticipated in recent memory. Reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champion Jared Mees will look to continue his historic run. But to do so, he’ll once again have to go through the most talented collection of motorcycle dirt track racers in the world – including the likes of Briar Bauman, Dallas Daniels, JD Beach, and Brandon Robinson.
This season’s DAYTONA Short Track I & II resumes a hallowed tradition that saw the high-profile event serve as the opening round of the Championship from 1989 through 2016, with doubleheaders becoming the norm in 2006.
Over the decades, the DAYTONA opener frequently saw the sport’s leading stars shine the brightest, with Hall of Famers Scott Parker, Chris Carr, Will Davis, and Kenny Coolbeth all earning wins in Daytona. However, the event is just as renowned for the unpredictable racing it has regularly produced. Several riders have scored upsets to secure their first-career premier-class victories there, including the aforementioned Bauman and Robinson. One rider yet to triumph at the venue, however, is Mees, who hopes to scratch off one of the few remaining unfilled achievements still left on his scorecard.
The atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric. A half-million motorcyclists are once again expected to descend on Daytona Beach for this year’s 82nd annual Daytona Bike Week, and the DAYTONA Short Track I & II is primed to be one of the world’s largest motorcycle event’s premier attractions.
A range of ticket options are available now, now starting at $25 each night, including Upper Rim Road – Standing Room Only, Reserved Grandstand, and Accessible Seating.
And for an additional $40 ($20 for kids under 12) per night, Paddock Access Upgrades provide all-day access to the pits where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport.
FOX Sports and FansChoice.tv are the official homes for coverage of Progressive American Flat Track. For the 2023 season, all races will premiere in one-hour telecasts on FS1 during highly desirable weekend time slots. The complete schedule can be viewed at https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports. FansChoice.tv provides livestreaming coverage of every Progressive AFT round at http://www.FansChoice.tv.
About Progressive American Flat Track
Progressive American Flat Track 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.
A “press release” is promotional text issued by a rider, team, company or organization to inform
the public about an event, product, or service from the issuer’s own point of view, and if deemed
to have news value, may be placed on roadracingworld.com as a service to our readers.
A press release is not an article written by Roadracingworld.com staffers. When a post is labeled with the words “press release”, it means that Roadracingworld.com is not responsible for its content and that Roadracingworld.com makes no guarantee that it is accurate. Not all press releases are posted and Roadracingworld.com may reject press releases if the content is too heavy on commercial promotion with little or no news value or if the press release contains obvious errors.
Accessibility
Accessibility modes
Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Online Dictionary
Readable Experience
Content Scaling
Default
Text Magnifier
Readable Font
Dyslexia Friendly
Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Font Sizing
Default
Line Height
Default
Letter Spacing
Default
Left Aligned
Center Aligned
Right Aligned
Visually Pleasing Experience
Dark Contrast
Light Contrast
Monochrome
High Contrast
High Saturation
Low Saturation
Adjust Text Colors
Adjust Title Colors
Adjust Background Colors
Easy Orientation
Mute Sounds
Hide Images
Hide Emoji
Reading Guide
Stop Animations
Reading Mask
Highlight Hover
Highlight Focus
Big Dark Cursor
Big Light Cursor
Cognitive Reading
Virtual Keyboard
Navigation Keys
Voice Navigation
Accessibility Statement
www.roadracingworld.com
May 24, 2026
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
