Rome, Georgia, June 14, 2013 – Pirelli’s new Angel GT Extended Mileage Sport Tire has taken the sport touring world by storm, and for a limited time only and while supplies last, customers can receive a free front 120/70ZR17 Angel GT tire with the purchase of a rear Angel GT tire. To qualify, register at www.getpirelli.com/agt, purchase a rear tire and a front tire will be shipped free of charge. Purchaser is responsible for $25 shipping and handling fee.

As an added bonus for promotion participants, Pirelli has organized VIP tours to take place during the AIMExpo in Orlando in October. “We welcome Pirelli and all Angel GT promotion participants to AIMExpo, the all-new European styled show for motorcycling in America,” said Cinnamon Kernes, AIMExpo Show Director. “If you are attending this exciting event, we’ll show you behind the scenes, get you front row seats to the outdoor exhibitions at AIMExpo Outdoors, and truly treat you like a VIP!” The inaugural AIMExpo runs from October 16–20, with consumer days opening on October 18. For more information, please visit www.AIMExpoUSA.com.

Suzuki has announced its much-anticipated return to MotoGP—only it’s going to be a year later than expected. The official announcement from Suzuki states that it will return to MotoGP in 2015, not next year as was originally predicted by much of the media. The brief statement then outlines the “Europe Test Team in 2013” as consisting of team manager Davide Brivio (whose experience runs from Ducati’s WSBK teams in their glory days to Yamaha MotoGP during Rossi’s previous tenure) and development rider Randy De Puniet, the French veteran who currently rides an Aprilia CRT bike for the Power Electronics Aspar team in MotoGP. The bike’s powerplant is also confirmed to be an inline-four engine, in contrast to the firm’s previous V-four engine in its GSV-R predecessor.

In a masterful display of nearly inch-perfect riding, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo took the lead into the first turn from polesitter and title rival Dani Pedrosa at Catalunya, then resisted race-long pressure from the Repsol Honda rider to take his third win of the 2013 MotoGP season. With ambient temperatures hovering at 87 degrees F and track temps soaring to nearly 126 degrees F, the hot conditions led to a sometimes slippery track surface that caught a good number of riders, resulting in many riders crashing out. GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista crashed out on the first lap and nearly took out Valentino Rossi for the second consecutive race, with both Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow crashing in Turn Five while running fourth and Ducati’s Nicky Hayden falling in Turn 10 on lap six.

Dani Pedrosa raised a few eyebrows with a stunning lap in the final minutes of MotoGP qualifying at Catalunya that was not only more than half a second quicker than the next rider, but it also shattered the lap record set by Casey Stoner way back in 2008 when qualifying tires were still in use. Pedrosa’s 1:40.893 lap record was also the first motorcycle lap in the 1:40s at the Catalunya circuit.

Valentino Rossi put his Yamaha Factory Racing M1 on top of the MotoGP practice sheets for the first time this season on Friday afternoon at Catalunya, slicing ahead with three minutes to go in the FP2 session and weathering assaults from numerous riders. Rossi cautioned—as did his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, just 0.049 seconds behind—that his time was done on a fresh soft compound tire, which masks the tire grip issues that everyone was experiencing once the tire began to wear in the hot conditions. Lorenzo did his time on the hard option rear, as did many riders who wanted to make sure they got enough time testing the harder compound in anticipation of hot weather for the race.

It’s hard to believe that almost six years have passed since Ducati released the original Hypermotard, and even more difficult to believe that our test riders have managed to keep their motorcycle licenses for the same amount of time. If ever there was a bike that threatened to put our editors in jail, it was the Hypermotard  —  in either its 796 or 1100 variants. The only thing that saved our duo was the fact that both models were drastically less fun the further you rode them, thus the keys were generally hung up after just a few days of misbehaving. But now there’s the 2013 Hypermotard and Hypermotard SP, both of which benefit from relaxed geometry, more permissive ergonomics and an all-new engine that Ducati feels will better suit the supermoto segment’s needs. And so the threat of community service returns…

Yamaha caused quite a stir at the Intermot show last October when it unveiled an unusual display that combined an R1 engine, an M1 MotoGP engine, and a concept engine surrounded by wires called the “P3 Concept”. At the heart of the display was an inline three-cylinder powerplant utilizing a crossplane crankshaft like its R1 and M1 cousins—with a rather ominous statement that “this advanced new, light, slim and compact 3-cylinder engine will shape Yamaha’s future motorcycle lineup.” At the show, we managed to get an interview with Yamaha’s Senior Executive Officer Kunihiko Miwa (who just happened to be the project leader of the original 1998 Yamaha YZF-R1), where he stated that, “The triple was the best solution using a cross-plane crank design.”

In an interview early last year, Ducati Motor Holding General Manager, Claudio Domenicali announced that the company would not immediately homologate its 1199 Panigale for World Superbike competition. “We will homologate the bike for Superstock, because the technical development is much more related to the production, so we are almost ready to go. While the Superbike, it’s far more extreme change in parts and extreme development, so we have taken our time.” In March of this year, I had the opportunity to test the homologation special of the Italian manufacturer’s superbike, the 2013 1199 Panigale R, and will argue that the wait has paid dividends; the Panigale R is a clear-cut evolution of the lineup and among the quickest production bikes to ever sport Ducati badges.

One day shortly after I had gotten my license to ride on the street, I hopped on my brother’s Honda CB400F, rode to the end of the driveway and turned right. At the first intersection, I turned left. Then right, left, and so on. My only goal for the ride was to keep to that pattern and see where it led me. This was in the days well before cell phones and GPS, but I wasn’t too worried about getting lost. My hometown in the corner of southwestern Ontario, Canada, is pretty much surrounded by the Great Lakes; I wouldn’t get too far before hitting water, and then it would be a simple matter of following the coastline to somewhere familiar.

The Portimao, Portugal, round of the World Superbike Championship saw changing fortunes for the majority of the title contenders, with Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli actually padding his points lead despite not winning either race. As a result of their misfortune, Guintoli’s points gap over second place increased to 28 points, with the Frenchman’s two podium finishes not spectacular but definitely getting the job done.

Even with rain forcing a slight rescheduling of the three Superpole knockout sessions (including the last session being declared a wet session, although the track was already drying), it appears Tom Sykes simply can’t be kept off pole position in the 2013 World Superbike Championship. The British rider grabbed his fifth Superpole in succession at the Portimao circuit in Portugal, despite a determined attempt by Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty that came within 0.001 seconds of unseating the Kawasaki rider. Both Sykes and Laverty were under the pole position time set by Sykes a year ago, making Sykes’ 1:41.360 a new lap record.

After missing out in the previous four solo races during the week-long Isle of Man TT festival, acknowledged “King of the Mountain” John McGuinness finally put it all together to win the prestigious Senior TT race. McGuinness’ victory brings his total TT tally up to 20 wins, with Friday’s race putting him at six Senior TT wins, in addition to 41 podium finishes, the most in Isle of Man TT history. In winning the Senior TT, McGuinness prevented Honda TT Legends teammate Michael Dunlop from sweeping all five solo races for the week, with Dunlop winning the Superbike race on Sunday June 2, followed by the first Supersport race and Superstock races on Monday, and the second Supersport race on Thursday.

After being thoroughly impressed with Dunlop’s Sportmax Q2 sport tire in our last sport tire comparison, we figured that Dunlop wasn’t in a hurry to try and improve on it. The Q2’s performance was head and shoulders above the rest, and even more impressive was the fact that the tire was actually some three years old, having been in introduced way back in September 2009. Thus, when we received the news that Dunlop was ready to release the new Sportmax Q3 successor, we were a bit surprised…and couldn’t help but have a bit of skepticism regarding the new tire and its performance. How could Dunlop actually improve on the Q2?

COVER STORY

The July 2013 issue of Sport Rider is now on sale, and is available in print and digital editions. In this issue Editor-in-chief Kent Kunitsugu and Associate Editor Bradley Adams spend some quality time with Triumph’s all-new Daytona 675 and BMW’s electronically advanced HP4 as part of individually printed full tests. Bradley hopped off the Daytona with just enough time to work on Sport Rider’s 2013 Suzuki GSX-R1000 project bike, which was improved by way of a Bazzaz traction control system, K-tech shock and aftermarket rear shock link before heading to Spring Mountain Raceway for two full days of testing. A First Ride story on Honda's revamped 2013 CBR600RR features both street and track impressions, and KTM’s reintroduced 690 Duke is covered, as is Herve Poncharal’s Tech 3 Racing team.

MV Agusta has released information on its F3 800, a bike that’s based heavily around the F3 675 but with more power and an identical curb weight, claims MV Agusta. The bike will be available in Pearl White/Black, Red/Silver, and Metallic Matte Black colors, and will ship to the States as a 2014 model.

The F3 800’s advantages stem from its 798cc three-cylinder engine, which benefits from a 79 x 54.3mm bore x stroke ratio (the F3 675, for comparison, has a 79 x 45.9mm bore x stroke ratio), titanium valves and fuel injectors that are intended to provide a higher flow rate. The larger displacement engine holds a 20 horsepower advantage over the 675cc powerplant, claims MV, who goes on to say that the F3 800 will produce around 148 horsepower at the crankshaft – bigger is undoubtedly better. Further down is a new final drive ratio, slipper clutch and Brembo monobloc brakes. Like the F3 675, the 800 is outfitted with a counter-rotating crankshaft that’s intended to reduce rotational inertia and improve responsiveness through side-to-side transitions.

MV Agusta takes pride in its electronics packages, so it’s no surprise to see that the F3 800 is brimming with electronic rider aids that come courtesy of its MVICS system with Ride-by-Wire throttle. The F3 800’s rider aids include multiple ride maps (one of which can be customized by the rider), an eight-level traction control system and an electronically assisted shifter.

The 800's chassis is typical MV as well, and pairs a tubular steel component to cast aluminium side plates and an "extended swingarm" that's intended to provide better drive grip.

F3 800 press material says that the new bike will retail for around €13,990 but says that price will vary between countries. We’ll keep our ears to the ground and update you as soon as U.S. representatives come forward with more information – be it technical or price-related.

Since their invention in the latter part of the 19th Century, motorcycles have spawned a virtual plethora of racing disciplines. Whether it be pursuit of straight line top speed on the salt flats or a low E.T. in the quarter-mile, racing a closed course over dirt or pavement, climbing a mountain, navigating a section of terrain more suitable for a mountain goat, or pitching it sideways on dirt ovals, racing on two wheels has taken on many shapes and forms over the past hundred-odd years. And within that canon of motorcycle competition are a host of disciplines that either prospered or faded into oblivion.

After being delayed by a day due to qualifying being pushed back from continuing inclement weather during the week, the Isle of Man TT Superbike race finally got underway at 3:00pm local time. Honda TT Legends’ Michael Dunlop—who qualified quickest on Friday—took the lead from his first lap and continued to build it to the end, crossing the finish with a 40-second lead over Wilson Craig Honda’s Cameron Donald. Dunlop—who is the legendary Joey Dunlop’s nephew—took his fourth TT victory with the win, and his first in the Superbike class.

Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo managed to slip underneath a fast-starting pole-sitter Dani Pedrosa in the first turn of the 2013 MotoGP race at Mugello, and then methodically managed his lead to pull away and take his third consecutive victory at the Florentine circuit in Italy on Sunday. While Lorenzo and his Repsol Honda rival waged their battle up front, there was considerable excitement behind as several riders crashed in separate incidents. First to fall were Lorenzo’s teammate Valentino Rossi and GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista, with both riders going down in the third turn of the first lap after colliding.

It took about all of three turns for the AMA Superbike race on Saturday to be decided. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas got the holeshot and managed to lead the pack heading down into Road America’s Turn 3 before reigning AMA champion Josh Hayes swept past into a lead he would never relinquish. The Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider quickly began to build a lead that looked easy, but the Mississippi native revealed actually wasn’t.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa came out on top of a hectic Q2 qualifying session for the MotoGP race at Mugello tomorrow, with unexpected sunshine greeting the competitors and making for a very exciting 15 minutes. With so little time to turn a quick lap, many of the riders ended up bunching up together and there were some frayed nerves and fist-waving before the session was over. First to fall prey to the conditions was Cal Crutchlow, who crashed with eight minutes to go and was forced to run back to the pits for his backup bike; the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider got back out with four minutes left and was able to turn a lap that got him up to fourth on the second row.

The July issue of Sport Rider features a full test of Triumph's updated Daytona 675. As part of the test we ran our bike on our SuperFlow CycleDyn dyno with the results shown here. The new model has slightly more torque than the old bike, but four more horsepower. The shorter-stroke motor also has a 500-rpm-higher rev limit. Check out the chart included here for the full results and comparison to the 2011 model we tested two years ago.

We've also included here some wallpaper images from the test, taken by photographer Kevin Wing. Look for the full story in the July issue of the magazine, which will be on newsstands soon.

Emissions Anger
I always see in response to horsepower and emissions questions that it’s the U.S. emissions and noise restrictions on bikes that show decreased numbers on a dyno. Well I lived in Europe for three and a half years and noise and emissions restrictions are stricter there than in the USA. It would be nice to have a real explanation than to try and pass it off as if the U.S. is the leader in emissions reduction. If that was the case why is it in the U.S. you pay more emissions tax on a new car than an old clunker? To wrap this up: European emission and noise restrictions are far more strict than in the U.S. and please don’t try and rebuttal with the fact of how many two-strokes they allow because anyone with knowledge will know that your oil mix products are not petroleum based as long as you’re not buying it from a mom-and-pop gas station.
Cameron Zenga
Cedartown, GA

The ACU Events Ltd organization responsible for running the 2013 Isle of Man TT has announced that Japanese rider Yoshinari Matsushita was killed during the combined Supersport/Superstock untimed practice session today. The accident reportedly happened at Ballacrye, a very fast, flat-out-in-sixth-gear section that also has pavement “jump” that launches the riders into the air at over 140 mph; it is considered one of the most challenging sections of the Snaefell Mountain Course. The practice session—which had been delayed due to rain and was then subsequently labeled an untimed practice session because of the challenging conditions with some areas wet and others dry—was immediately red-flagged for the incident.

HRC (Honda Racing Corporation) released a blurry action photo of its forthcoming production MotoGP racebike during a two-day test at the Motegi circuit in Japan on May 23-24. No details were released along with the photo, but it’s obvious that the bike appears to be heavily based upon the RC213V prototype machine that Honda-backed teams are currently racing in MotoGP. The rider in the photo is Honda’s official test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi, the 2010 All-Japan superbike champion who has subbed for various Honda MotoGP riders in past seasons and is currently leading the All-Japan JSB1000 Superbike championship. Shuhei Nakamoto, HRC executive vice president, commented in the press release that, “the test results showed more than what we had expected, in particular, with its running performance. We are very pleased at this stage, and we will announce more in the not-too-distant future.”