Motorcycle Blog

The MMX British Open Championship took place at the legendary Hawkstone Park in Shropshire at the weekend, with the Relentless MX team making some changes to the usual format by giving Lewis Gregory an outing on the RM-Z450, alongside his regular big-class teammate Jamie Law.

With the sandy track in great condition, Law was looking to continue his good run of form in the MMX, starting the weekend off from his solid fifth place in the series standings. Frustrated with his eighth place in timed practice, Law was just one place behind teammate Gregory, who impressively was contesting the championship for the first time this year on the larger capacity RM-Z.

Unfortunately for Law, the weekend was not to improve, after a lot of wheel-spin off the concrete start in race one left the RM-Z rider at the back of the pack. An inspired ride, saw Jamie climb back through to tenth, before a massive crash coming down the infamous Hawkstone hill, left Jamie badly dazed, suffering a big impact to his face and a badly gashed knee, ending his day of racing.

Talking about the incident, team manager Rob Hooper commented, “It really was a big accident for Jamie, and we’re delighted to see that he only suffered such minor injury. It’s at times like these that you realise how important the development from our technical partners is such as Arai and CTi knee braces. It really is the difference between walking away relatively uninjured and not.”

Following the retirement of his teammate, Gregory dug deep in race one, moving through the pack on the RM-Z450, using the power to cross the line in a very credible fifth place. Race two was to be no different, coming from 15th place to another strong finish in sixth.

“Congratulations to Lewis this weekend”, continued Hooper. “The track was bumpy and the 450 gave him a great work-out. It’s just a shame both riders couldn’t bring it home safely. Thankfully, Jamie should be fine for the next MMX round at Blaxhall near Ipswich, while Jamie travels out to Holland for the European MX3 GP at Markelo, before they travel to Slovenia for the next round. Also, Scott Probert has made an excellent recovery from his shoulder surgery and had his first outing on a bike last Thursday. He is aiming to return to the race track at the Blaxhall event on July 20th.

Team Suzuki GB rider, Tom Bridewell, finished ninth in today’s fourth round Suzuki GSX-R Cup race at Misano. The 10-lap race was won by local wildcard and former World Supersport champion, Fabrizio Pirovano.

In temperatures of around 35 degrees at the historic 4.2km circuit on Italy’s northern Adriatic coast, Bridewell’s Team Suzuki GB colleagues, Grant Molloy and wildcard Brendan Clarke, finished in 15th and 10th places respectively.

In a dramatic sprint, watched by a sun-drenched, 68,000-strong crowd, series leader Ismael Ortega crashed out of second place on lap seven, while race leader, Simone Saltarelli, suffered a similar fate two laps later, handing the lead to Pirovano.

“It was a really good race,” said Bridewell afterwards, “but such hard work in those temperatures. Those World Superbike riders are really earning their wages doing two 24-lap races today. I got a pretty good start but had to pick my way past a couple of riders in the opening laps. By the time I got through, the leaders had gone.”

The series now has a two-month summer break before the fifth and penultimate round at Donington Park, GB on 7th September.

Suzuki GSX-R European Cup, round four - Misano, Italy.
Results (10 laps, 42.26km) - wildcards (W) do not score points: 1 Fabrizio Pirovano (ITA) (W) 17m21.447s, 2 Emeric Jonchiere (FRA) +0.853s, 3 Roland Resch (AUT) +2.287, 4 Arturo Tizon (ESP) +4.980, 5 Lucas de Carolis (FRA) +5.045, 6 Lars Reichelt (GER) +9.439, 7 Robertino Pietri (VEN) (W) +12.837, 8 David Juhasz (HUN) +13.672, 9 Tom Bridewell (GBR) +18.349, 10 Brendan Clarke (AUS) (W) +18.558.

Championship points after four of six rounds: 1 Jonchiere 81, 2 Ismael Ortega (ESP) 69, 3 Resch 67, 4 Tizon 48, 5 Simone Saltarelli (ITA) 39, 6 Juhasz 33, 7 Alessandro Colatosti (ITA) 32, 8 Reichelt 31, 9 de Carolis 27, 10 Bridewell 25, 14 Grant Molloy (GBR) 16.

Suzuki’s officially backed Motocross teams made the trip across the Irish sea at the weekend for round five of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship held at Desertmartin near Cookstown in Northern Ireland.

Following domination of the result sheets at the last round at Lyng in Norfolk, where the Suzuki teams recorded multiple podium finishes across both classes, it would be Brad Anderson of Team Suzuki Swift and Carl Nunn of Suso MVR-D that would make the podium visits this time, with a well-earned third place in the first MX1 race for Anderson and the same result for Nunn in the first MX2 race on-board the RM-Z250.

With Anderson and Nunn recording solid results in both opening races, Relentless Suzuki MX rider Jamie Law would be the other strongest Suzuki rider in MX1, taking a solid eighth place in race one and ninth in race two, to finish the round in eighth overall.

In MX2, the usual Suzuki torrent of top-ten finishers was to follow Nunn home, with no-less than four more RM-Z250s inside the top-ten in race one, with Jason Dougan in fourth, Marcus Norlen in sixth, Lewis Gregory in eighth and Jake Nicholls ninth.

In the final MX2 race, a further four more Suzuki’s would complete the top-ten with Nunn missing out on a podium spot in fourth, Dougan in fifth, Lewis Gregory in seventh and Marcus Norlen in eighth.

GSX-R1000 - NOW WITH £700 WORTH OF FREE ACCESSORIES

Customers who buy a new GSX-R1000 between now and September 30th will get the added bonus of up to £700 worth of clothing or accessories with their new bike for free.

Whether it’s a new exhaust system, leathers or helmet, the allowance gives the customer their pick of Suzuki’s growing clothing and accessories range, and even if their chosen item has a higher value, the £700 can be put towards it.

Suzuki GB marketing manager, George Cheeseman commented, “Everyone likes to personalise their motorcycling experience and with this offer the customer can do just this without any additional outlay. With the vast official range of clothing and accessories, there is in excess of 195 items to choose from, whether you’re looking to add a bit of individuality to your bike or dress to impress, this offer ticks all boxes.”

To see how you can accessorise your ride, visit:
www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/accessories/

The offer is available from any authorised Suzuki dealer and is applicable on all new 2008 GSX-R1000s registered before 30th September 2008 by a bona fide customer.

Honda Technical Workshop for Motorcycle Safety

The first Honda Technical Workshop for Motorcycle Safety took place from 9th-10th June. More than 150 motorcycle experts from all over Europe convened at the LUK Driving Centre near Baden-Baden (Germany) for this Pan-European Event. Attendees included press, media and representatives from several scientific branches and technical associations. It was here that Honda’s new electronically-controlled “Combined ABS” for the Super Sport category was revealed.
Integrated Approach
Honda has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to furthering motorcycle safety with its unique safety concept for powered two-wheelers. Its approach tackles Preventive, Active and Passive Safety. The resulting technologies in the field of preventive safety include the Motorcycle Riding Simulator and the Riding Trainer, both of which are used for hazard prevention training. Research is also being done to improve vehicle recognition through enhanced conspicuity, and to develop vehicle communication technologies. 

Airbag Success
In 2006 after 15 years of research and development Honda released the world’s first motorcycle airbag. Fitted on the Gold Wing, it marked a significant breakthrough in Passive Safety for motorcycles. The airbag works by absorbing the rider’s kinetic energy in the event of a frontal collision. Extensive crash testing and, in the meantime, a few real-world accidents have proved its efficiency in reducing injuries. Honda’s effort has been recognized in the US, Japan and in Europe where the motorcycle airbag has received major awards for its innovative safety technology.

Active Safety
Honda has also made considerable progress towards accident avoidance by Active Safety measures. Since launching the first motorcycle series disc brake on the CB750 Four in 1969, Honda has continually been evolving brake systems that make motorcycle control easier and more effective. 1992 saw a major milestone in Advanced Braking with the first Honda ABS, on an ST1100. This was followed up in 1993 with the first Dual CBS, on a CBR1000F. Integrating the benefits of both systems, Combined ABS was introduced on the ST1100 Pan-European in 1996. 

Safety Commitment
Since then, the application of Advanced Brake Systems has been extended over nearly the whole line-up and market acceptance has been growing all over Europe. Honda President Takeo Fukui has confirmed Honda’s commitment to offering these state-of-the-art brake systems on almost every model of 250cc displacement and over, by 2010. In line with this strategy, Honda has now announced a completely new electronically-controlled “Combined ABS” specially developed for Super Sport bikes.

Electronically-Controlled “Combined ABS” for Super Sport Motorcycles
The fundamental ABS advantage of wheel lock avoidance and the basic CBS advantages of easier control and higher stability are already well established. In this new system, these functions are supplemented with special characteristics required by Super Sport motorcycles. Due to its short wheelbase, a Sportsbike tends to pitch. The new advanced combined “brake by wire control” system overcomes this, providing superb stability and controllability as well as excellent deceleration. 

Honda Support for Safety Initiatives
Honda fully supports the EU targets for traffic fatality reduction and is well on its way to fulfilling its safety commitments under the European Road Safety Charter. While expanding its own safety activities and technologies, Honda also encourages a common approach to safety by the entire Motorcycle community, believing that general market acceptance of all safety technologies is essential to exploit their full potential.

All you need to know about the world’s first electronically-controlled “Combined ABS” for Super Sport motorcycles!