Round 6 of the 2011 AMA ATV Motocross Championship landed at the Steel City Raceway in Delmont, PA. A familiar face topped the podium, while a couple of up-and-comers nabbed season best results. Furthermore, three different manufacturers were represented.
American Honda’s Joe Byrd took his first overall win of the season as he sported a Red Ride again showing the ill will between the rider and manufacturer has been put to pasture. Joining Byrd on the podium was Ballance Racing’s Thomas Brown on his Yamaha, with Motoworks rookie Chase Snapp securing third overall on his Can-Am.
Points leader Chad Weinen looked like he was going to post another great overall after leading wire to wire in Moto 1, but was unable to get his Motoworks Can-Am DS450 fired up on the gate for Moto 2 resulting in a DNS. Wienen still gained valuable points with a 6th overall. Teammate John Natalie didn’t fair any better as a nasty get off in Moto 1 resulted in an average Moto 2 finish and a 9th overall. Check out the video below for highlights.
With only 500 units planned for production, most of us would consider ourselves lucky to see the Toyota supercar in person. Here some extremely lucky blokes across the pond get to experience the ferocity of the Lexus LFA on the track of Bruntingthorpe Proving Grounds, courtesy of Lexus UK. In addition to the LFA, the Lexus IS-F also tagged along for the track day but the poor little brother gets overshadowed by its highly acclaimed sibling. Click the video below to hear the 4.8-liter V10 blasting past its 9,000 RPM redline and bask in the excellence of the internal combustion engine.
We know that BMW has a potent stable of four wheeled machines, the most track worthy wearing the M badge. They have thrown themselves full force into the two wheeled super bike category with their amazing S1000 RR which puts out almost 180 horsepower at the rear wheel. BMW decided to pit the RR against the high-revving 8 cylinder, four wheeled brethren, the E92 M3. Outfitted with high performance exhausts from Akrapovic, these two amazing machines took the battle to the track to see which would reign supreme.
McLaren is well know for their efforts in Formula 1, but their ability to bring those technological feats to the road has resulted in two of the most advanced supercars ever built. The McLaren F1 was a pioneering feat that set the benchmark for a generation of supercars. Fast forward almost two decades later and McLaren has introduced the MP4-12C. An attempt to infuse all of the F1 technology into a more civilized package. The question everyone wants to know… How does the MP4-12C compare to the F1? Lucky for us, Autocar wanted to find out.
Round 11 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in Jacksonville proved to be an eventful evening for the fans. Redbull KTM’s Mike Alessi got out of the gates quick and grabbed the holeshot but his lead was short lived as he dropped to fifth after the first lap. Meanwhile, San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart burned it in on the whoops and was taken off in a stretcher. By the end of lap one, Trey Canard had the lead, followed by Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey, and Davi Millsaps.
Side Note: 2011 Supercross Series points leader Ryan Villopoto failed to qualify for the main as he crashed out of Heat 2 and had two get-offs in the LCQ.
By lap ten, Canard still held the top spot, followed by Chad Reed, Ryan Dungey, and Kevin Windham. Reed mounted a challenge on the final three laps and pushed Canard to the brink in the final corner, but Canard was able to hold him off and take the win. A great night for Honda as they nab three of the top four spots.
BMW’s polarizing 6-Series line is back for 2012, sporting some design improvements that are sure to convert some of the naysayers. BMW describes the freshly designed 650i Coupe as athletic elegance. The dimensions have changed with a 2.9 inch increase in overall length, 2.95 inch increase in wheelbase, and 1.5 inch increase in track width. The changes were said to give the 6-Series an exceptionally powerful stance that emphasizes its impressive roadholding. In the power department, the Bimmer gets the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine that makes 400 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque, mated to either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission. This translates in a 0 to 60 mph time near 4.8 seconds with either transmission . Top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph. We’ll reserve final judgment until the new Coupe is viewed in person, but initial indications from the images below tell us that the changes are a step in the right direction.
The 2011 AMA ATV Motocross Championship kicked off February 26-27 at Aonia Pass MX in Washington, Ga. There has been many rumors and questions during the off season as factory teams have disappeared and sponsorship dollars have dried up. The opening round was without 2010 ATVMX champion Josh Creamer as he was out west racing the WORCS series. Baldwin Motorsporst Josh Upperman grabbed the moto one holeshot aboard Honda, but it wasn’t long before he was passed by Chad Weinen aboard his Motoworks/Can-Am DS450. Soon after, Weinen’s teammate John Natalie followed suite passing Upperman en route to a 2nd place finish. The Motoworks/Can-Am team dominated the weekend taking the top two spots on the podium, while Upperman finished the weekend 3rd in the points. Check out the video below for some mud flinging highlights.
Ducati’s Diavel is a curious leap for the Bologna brand into the large sport cruiser category (emphasis on sport). With the spec sheet listing 162hp, 94lb/ft of torque, a slipper clutch, a fully adjustable suspension, and 4-piston Brembo Monoblocs, this is not your ordinary cruiser. Did I mention the 8-inch wide rear tire? MotorcycleNews.com threw a leg over the beast and had some interesting comments. Take a look in the video below.
Want to get behind the wheel of one of the most talked about modern day race cars, the P4/5 Competizione? So do I, but it’s not likely. The next best thing is to watch the first-person point-of-view video showing the P4/5 ringing out on the Paul Ricard Circuit in Le Castellet, France.
Delving further into “X” Sports, ESPN released a video showing the upcoming Global Rallycross Championship series. The series will feature short rally races similar to those of last year’s Summer X-Games where tight courses and insane jumps should provide plenty of pushing, shoving, and sliding. The series will include the usual slate of Rally cars including Subaru Impreza WRX STIs, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions, and Ford Fiestas driven by some talented wheel men including Tanner Foust and two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm.
The series has struck a multi-year TV deal with ESPN, hoping to pick up viewership by following NASCAR Nationwide and NHRA shows on ESPN and ESPN2 with live event streaming on ESPN3.
