Franco Morbidelli was happy to finish fifth in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas over the weekend.
His teammate and rookie Fabio Quartararo crossed the line in seventh.
It was a great for the PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team.
While everyone was transfixed by Marc Marquez’s early departure and the subsequent battle between Valentino Rossi and Alex Rins, Franco Morbidelli rode to fifth in the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas over the weekend. It the first Top 5 finish for him and the new PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team.
Morbidelli fought hard against a resurgent Andrea Dovizioso of Mission Winnow Ducati but had to give way at the end. Dovizioso had qualified 13thon the grid and fought his way up the field to eventually finish fourth. However, Morbidelli managed to defend his fifth position from Dovizioso’s team Danilo Petrucci.
It was Morbidelli’s best MotoGP result to date since joining the premier class last year.
“I’m very, very happy about this fifth position. We were starting a bit too far, because yesterday we had not a great qualifying. But I was confident that I could be fast in the race today” said the Italian.
His team was also very happy when MotoGP rookie Fabio Quartararo finished in seventh place, one behind Petrucci.
It was excellent results for the Malaysia-based team which didn’t exist a mere six months before the start of the 2019 season.
However, Morbidelli kept his pragmatic approach, saying that the team has to keep improving. “We need to work, we need to improve to get those 8 seconds here. Couple of seconds in Argentina. So we are missing something to get on the podium.”
The Dakar Rally is moving to Saudi Arabia beginning 2020.
The move is due to political and monetary concerns in South America.
Stay tuned for the press conference on 25th April.
The Dakar Rally is moving to Saudi Arabia beginning 2020, after months of speculation.
Rumours of the end of the series in South America began within weeks after the completion of the 2019 edition. There were also rumours of the race heading back to Africa, albeit in the south. Soon, an Instagram post claimed that the Saudis were lobbying to hold the race.
Confirmation of the move was confirmed by a Dakar Rally’s official Facebook post.
Africa had hosted the rally since the beginning but political upheavals in Mauritania forced the cancellation of the 2008 edition. The organizers decided to move to the South American continent, where the rally was held in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru.
However, more political and financial concerns dogged the Dakar, forcing it to be held in Peru along earlier this year.
That’s when rumours began circulating that it might head back to the African continent, but will take place in South Africa, Namibia, Angola and Botswana instead of in the historic northern regions.
But an Instagram post by a competitor identified the Saudi kingdom as the next venue. The rally will now cover part of the 3.6 million square kilometre Arabian desert.
The Dakar’s organizer Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) confirmed that they have inked a five-year deal with Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is now an addition as a motorsport venue in the Arabian Peninsula along with Qatar, Oman and United Arab Emirates.
A press conference will be held on 25th April to reveal the details of the 2020 Dakar Rally.
There are many celebrities who ride but John Wick a.k.a. Keanu Reeves had his own brand of motorcycles.
He also owns a number of rare motorcycles.
His company Arch Motorcycle builds futuristic custom bikes.
There’s no secret that that John Wick a.k.a. Keanu Reeves er… or is it Keanu Reeves a.k.a. John Wick loves motorcycles. But what bikes does he own?
There are many celebrities who love motorcycles and actually ride instead of just posing with them. The list is long and distinguished including Tom Cruise, Ryan Reynolds, Ewan McGregor, Orlando Bloom, Bear Grylls, Pink, Justin Timberlake, Alanis Morissette, Bradley Cooper, Michael Fassbender, Hugh Laurie, Richard Hammond, Jay Leno, Brad Pitt, David Beckham.
But there is only one among them who owns his brand of motorcycles, and that’s John… er.. Keanu Reeves.
In this interview with GQ Magazine, gives us an insight to Reeves’ passion. He showed us the 1973 Norton Commando 850 MK2A which he bought in 1987. The second bike is the 2004 Ducati 998 Reloaded Edition which was the feature bike in The Matrix: Reloaded. Ducati presented him the bike after to commemorate the film, resplendent in dark green.
He also listed the movies that he rode in such as Chain Reaction, My Own Private Idaho, and the upcoming John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum. (We’ve featured the article about the film’s trailer where John Wick battles assassins on a fleet of Yamaha MT-09s.)
Over to the motorcycle brand he co-founds and co-owns, Arch Motorcycle. It began as a customization contract for a Harley Dyna Wide Glide. The bike became the prototype of the first Arch Motorcycle model – the KRGT-1. Arch Motorcycle produces more than 200 machined aluminium components for the bike themselves, and only outsources the suspension, exhaust and engine.
He also spoked about the company’s next model called the Arch 1S. The bike is a sportier version of the KRGT-1. Reeves went on to show the Method 143 concept which utilizes a carbon fibre monocell chassis.
What other bikes does Reeves hope to own? The 1955 Vincent Black Shadow and Brough Superior. He also hopes to ride a MotoGP bike.
A car driver caught the footage of a large group of motorcyclists on the East Coast Highway (LPT) pulling off this stupid stunt. The riders in the group seemed to relish in riding prone in each other’s slipstream to gain higher top speeds.
The poster also said that they refused to heed his warning after he sounded his horn. The video was posted to Info Roadblock and shared by another popular gossip portal. Consequently, it has since gone viral. This is not the way to achieve 15 seconds of fame. Predictably, Malaysians are well-known for their caustic comments including a few which threatened to “run over” such groups with their vehicles.
It’s a dangerous act to carry out even without blocking the traffic. A slip by one rider or a couple of guys hitting each other will send the whole group down. Needless to say, everyone will get hurt or worse, getting hit by other traffic. Say, a truck.
Not only that, it sullies the name of all motorcyclists. Drivers of other vehicles wouldn’t give a second wink to differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys: Everyone is the same! That’s the human nature to generalize everything he sees or hears about.
The Ösuspension is the latest in electronic suspension evolution. It not only performs the preset duties of semi-active suspensions of the past, but the rider could tune it to achieve different objectives.
The Objective Based Tuning Interface allows you to tune, for example:
Less fork dive when you brake for a corner.
Softer damping in the middle of the corner for more grip.
Harder rear shock when you accelerate out of the corner.
The suspension system’s ECU takes readings from the suspension movement, brakes, throttle and IMU (lean angle, yaw angle) to formulate a solution for the current riding mode. Besides that, it not only works on the suspension, it works on the electronic Öhlins steering damper, too.
The rider can switch the system to manual mode. The suspension will then react accordingly to the present modes – Track, Sport, Road – selected by the rider.
This system was first seen on the Ducati Panigale V4 and V4 S.
Unfortunately, the Tuono V4 has always flown under the radar when it comes to naked sportbikes for some reason. That’s a real shame because it offers the raw performance that most bikes have damped out these days. Even the much-vaunted beast – the KTM 1290 Super Duke R – has mellowed, but not the Tuono. And we haven’t started on the V4 soundtrack yet!
This bike is the very essence of why we love bikes in the first place. In other words, that ability to leave everything behind including supercars without needing to sell both your kidneys.
Malaysian women bikers are set to Women Riders World Relay (WRWR).
Ladies of Harley and Anita Yusof (part of GIVI Bella) are involved.
GIVI Asia sponsored helmets and backpacks to some of the participants.
The ride begins on 27thApril 2019 led by Ladies of Harley from HDPJ.
It used to be that women bikers are a novelty among the motorcycling community. But the Women Riders World Relay (WRWR) is set to change that perception.
The “event” seeks to unite women riders the world over, as women riders from one country hand over a GPS “baton” to those in another. The relay also transcends the different cliques and types of motorcycles.
Tina Sharman, the Ripple Rally Ambassador clarified on a number of details:
The main WRWR is a worldwide event and will reach Malaysia in August.
In the the Global Relay, a baton is passed from woman to woman while travelling by motorcycle through 80 countries on a round-the-world route.
As such, the Global Relay consists of long day rides and the majority of them on highways to cover as much distance as possible. It is so to cover the entire globe within 1 year.
Therefore, the Global Relay requires registration, fees and signed waiver to participate.
In the Global Relay, men can join as companions but are not allowed to carry the baton. Conversely, it is up to the teams to invite male riders to the Ripple Relay.
On the other hand, the Ripple Relay is more leisurely and planned around the individual or team’s schedule. The only objective is to pass the flag around within 1 year.
No registration and fees are required for the Ripple Relays. Teams are only expected to communicate with other teams to pass the flag. The handover will be photographed and shared on social media.
Thereby, in support of the main relay, “Ripple Relays” are held in each country where rides are conducted throughout the year.
Consequently, instead of using the GPS baton, the Ripple Rally will hand over the Malaysian flag among various Team Leaders or Women Riding Clubs while travelling through the country.
The Malaysian flag will ultimately travel to London in February 2020 for the WRWR closing ceremony.
As such, Malaysian women bikers are set to join the event which begins on 27thApril 2019. The inaugural ride will be led by the Ladies of Harley from Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya. They will ride through Melaka, to highlight the attractions in the state.
A preview to the Malaysian ride was hosted recently by GIVI Asia Sdn. Bhd. GIVI Asia has been active in supporting women bikers in the country, having hosted a ladies-only ride and camp not too long ago. In fact, GIVI Asia’s brand ambassador is none other than Anita Yusof who rode her motorcycle around the world.
Present at the preview were Anita, the Ladies of Harley and ladies of other motorcycle groups. Sam Sharman, the Marketing Manager of GIVI Asia handed over GIVI helmets and backpacks to those present.
Nor Cillia (left) with Sam Sharman
BikesRepublic.com interviewed a number of the ladies including Tina Sharman (as Ambassador of the Ripple Rally), Sue Rahman and Nor Cillia Omar (of Ladies of Harley), plus Anita Yusof (representing GIVI Bella).
Tina Sharman
BikesRepublic.com:Can you tell us a little bit more about WRWR? Tina Sharman:WRWR was set up by Hayley Bell in 2018 in the UK. It’s to highlight that there are more and more women bikers in the world. However, there’s still very little in terms of support for women bikers, especially when it comes to riding gear.
Sumai with Sam
You go into a shop and you’ll find the gear are all for men. Instead, there are maybe 2 pieces and invariably in pink!
WRWR is a relay but carried out on motorcycles. The batons are GPS trackers, but it isn’t a “linear” relay. Instead it’s a “ripple relay” (like how ripples in water propagate outwards) which covers all corners of the globe. Besides that, the different groups in Malaysia will hand over the Malaysian flag.
Sumai is now currently arranging the groups, there are close to 15 of them. As part of ripple relay, they will take their own routes on different dates so that the rides don’t overlap. The Malaysian ride covers both West and East Malaysia.
We want this unity among all women bikers. This is the best platform.
There are many different routes being planned to cover all states in Malaysia. For example, Sumai will lead the off-road group, while Anita leads the GIVI Bellas. In doing so, we will also highlight the beauty of Malaysia to the overseas riders.
BikesRepublic.com:How far will each group ride, at average? Anita Yusof:We encourage ladies on all types of bikes and engine capacities, including those on kapchais. But they are still willing to ride long distance and camp. Some routes are over Labour Day weekend, so it depends.
The longest route will start from Ipoh – Kedah – Penang – Perlis – Kelantan – Terengganu – Cameron Highlands (Pahang).
BikesRepublic.com: Is there another underlying theme behind your participation in WRWR besides sisterhood? Tina Sharman: It’s also to show what we can do. The women riding scene really started in 2016, so it shows how far we’ve come within three years.
We will also contribute towards charity during the WRWR rides.
BikesRepublic.com:As for you Anita, which group will you be heading? Anita Yusof:I’ll be leading GIVI Bella. Sam (Sharman) of GIVI Asia had organized ride and camp trips for guys. After my ride in Africa I decided to approach him and propose ride and camp trips for ladies as well. He liked the idea, since we are GIVI Explorer. The theme is Explore, Enjoy. This is the way to promote the lifestyle of exploring and riding.
For the WRWR, GIVI Bella will ride to Pangkor Island to camp. GIVI Bella covers all ladies on all motorcycles.
Sue Rahman with Sam
BikesRepublic.com: Chilla (Nor Chilla Omar), can you tell us more about Ladies of Harley’s role in WRWR? Nor Chilla Omar: We (Ladies of Harley) will be the first to start the ride and we are very excited. We are trying to gather as many women bikers as we can, regardless of what bike they ride. We would like this sisterhood to grow and that more ladies will start riding.
We plan to start the ride from Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya (HDPJ) on 27th April. We will then ride to landmarks around Kuala Lumpur. We are planning to ride to the Sepang International Circuit, for the ladies to ride on the circuit itself. From there, we are going to ride along the trunk roads to Pantai Klebang and into Melaka.
It’s a great opportunity to show may we have in Malaysia including the gastronomical delights! We hope to draw the attention of the world to Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Malaysia.
Conclusion
So, ladies please block your calendars for the Women Riders World Relay! It’s going to be blast!
