Aprilia Mana 850 Motorcycles in Dahlonega, page #19

Moto blog

Entry-level Aprilia RS4 125 to be Offered with Quick Shifter

Aprilia U.K. will offer a quick shifter as an optional add-on to the Aprilia RS4 125 entry-level sportbike. Inherited from the Aprilia RSV4 R APRC, the quick shifter allows for clutchless upshifts without needing to close the throttle.

848 Challenge rider profiles

The 2011 Ducati 848 Challenge is packed full of talent. Here are the riders who'll be pushing their 848 EVOs to the limit during the 8-round championship. Mark Andrew #22 Age 28 Hometown: Lincoln Occupation: Car Dealer Team Name: TBC Career History ·         started racing 1990 ·         Age 8 – sand racing, Mablethorpe ·         Age 16 – champion, Mablethorpe ·         Age 17 – Aprilia superteens ·         Age 18 – CB500 Cup competitor ·         Age 19 - 28 – British Superstock competitor ·         Age 28 – Thundersport Streetfighter A, 3rd in championship Aaron Brown #81 Age 27 Hometown: Nuneaton Occupation: Builder Website:  Team Name: T.B.C.

Donington Park and the Roman rebel.

We know the sun always shines on the righteous and that’s exactly what happened last weekend at Donington Park. Yes its good honest people back in charge of the Derbyshire circuit so we saw summer sunshine for Friday’s free practice and also for WSB race two on Sunday. The circuit is better than ever with a new Esses section in place, and while the paddock remains unchanged, work has already started that will see gradual revamp over the year ahead.

Old boys up front and where are the new 600 Gixers?

As I’ve been gagging for the new race season to kick off so it was almost a pleasure getting up at stupid 0 clock to watch the World Superbike Championship  opener at Phillip Island last weekend. I have to say Messrs Burnicle and Whitham were on form although I was disappointed there were none of the usual verbal attacks on each other that always add to the entertainment.    I’m sure they will put things right soon but the world superbike regulars must have been disheartened that Moto GP veterans nailed five of the six available rostrum slots.

Paris Hilton’s Race Team Might Actually Be Good

When news first emerged that Paris Hilton was getting into the Grand Prix racing business, the response from fans of the motorcycle racing ranged from utter disdain to hope that the celebutante’s involvement would raise the profile of the sport. Whether you dread the image of a sparkly pink carbon fiber fairing or welcome any infusion of funding and support for racing, the one thought that may not have crossed your mind was “what if the team turns out to be pretty good?” Based on the results of a recent 125cc Grand Prix pre-season test, that might be the case. Maverick Viñales of the SuperMartxe VIP by Paris Hilton team had the second fastest laptime from the three-day test at Spain’s Valencia circuit, just 0.1 seconds behind the leader Nico Terol of Bancaja Aspar.

Our Magnificent seven

Remember to dust your Union Jacks down if you happen to be visiting any Grand Prix this year as we have no less than seven youngsters to cheer on in the junior Moto GP classes. I don’t think we’ve ever had this many ‘yoofs’ in the GP paddock so let’s hope they can do the business and bring an end to our long drought of Grand Prix titles. And that could be soon as Scott Redding is already a hot favourite for the 2011 Moto 2 championship on his Marc VDS Suter machine.

Thumbs up for a chilly N.E.C.

Apart from the freaky weather I have to say last week’s Carole Nash Motorcycle Live N.E.C. show was the best Birmingham event I've attended in the ten years. I really appreciate the fact that manufacturers chose to ignore the recession giving us great stands to cater for every enthusiast young and old.  Aprilia made a welcome return and I don’t know anyone that didn’t enjoy admiring the WSB RSV4, surely the the most gorgeous bike on the planet? The Honda stand rarely disappoints and this year was no exception with banking bikes providing fun for all the family.

Rossi's Smart

The best piece of 2011 Rossi merchandise so far has to be this Smart car I spotted last week in the Jerez paddock. Maybe Vale himself will have one as it would easily fit into a corner of his humungous new motor home I posted on here a few weeks ago. I was down there with Taylor for the final round of the Spanish Championship (CEV) and just like BSB there was a great end of season atmosphere in the paddock.

Small steps to a bright future

A small but very significant addition to the BSB paddock in 2010 has been the Racing Steps Foundation GP125 team.  RSF is an organisation founded by wealthy businessman Graham Sharp, to help talented youngsters with no funding make their way up the motorsport ladder. As a boy, Sharpe wanted to become a racing driver but soon realised without a serious amount of cash, this was virtually impossible. He never forgot this dilemma so is now in the business of making dreams come true for young UK racers in Karting, GP2 and Motorcycle Racing.

Moto3. Recession racers?

I've sat through enough manufacturer' presentations recently to know that we're in trouble. Ignoring the still booming Asian markets, the rest of the motorcycle World is in free-fall. Even looking at the figures optimistically we're still only selling half the volumes we were in pre-crash 2006.