News 13 May 2011

Cycle Insider #18

We have the latest on the world of street bikes every Friday on CycleOnline.com.au.

MV Agusta unveiled its new 2012 model F4 RR during the week.

MV Agusta unveiled its new 2012 model F4 RR during the week.

Street

  • Wow, have you seen MV Agusta’s stunning new F4 RR superbike that was unveiled during the week? With 200 horsepower and a weight of 192 kilograms, the new MV is one of the most anticipated bikes of the year. It’s equipped with a whole heap of goodies, so stay tuned for a full update next week.
  • Hyosung’s GT250R has had its price slashed a significant $500 down to $5490 in what looks to be a direct response to Honda’s CBR250R price of $5490. Kawasaki also recently lowered its price on the class leading Ninja 250, marking a new price war in the small-bore category.
  • Want to ride with Australian Superbike Championship leader Glenn Allerton aboard a BMW S 1000 RR at Queensland Raceway next month? Well make sure you give Morgan and Wacker Brisbane a call at 07 3252 5691 for more information. The test day will be on 12 June, just a week following the ASBK round at the same venue.

MotoGP

  • Alex Cudlin has been confirmed for this weekend’s Moto2 World Championship round at Le Mans in France. Cudlin will race a Moriwaki for the QMMF team that he usually rides for in Qatar and in World Endurance, an opportunity for what may see big things to come for Alex.
  • Reports have spread this week that Valentino Rossi has called his rivals “pussies” following Estoril, speaking about the off-track battle between his friend Marco Simoncelli and world champion Jorge Lorenzo. Rossi wants to see more aggression without consequences apparently, which sounds good to us!
  • It was also reported that Rossi referred to the current crop of GP greats as “children” in the way that they have been acting of late, however when questioned about this at the pre-race press conference, Lorenzo said “it must be a shame to be beaten by kids every race”. Bring on this weekend’s race for more fireworks…
  • Another argument of sorts Rossi continues to be involved in is the fascinating rivalry between he and Aussie Casey Stoner. Stoner is said to have accidently passed Rossi under brakes at Estoril during testing before slowing down, causing Rossi to accuse him of deliberately blocking him. Stoner denied he was blocking him and Rossi later told the press it was no big deal.
Simoncelli was at the Monza WSBK round, but Gresini confirmed he won't be racing this year.

Simoncelli was at the Monza WSBK round, but Gresini confirmed he won't be racing this year.

World Superbike

  • Speaking of Simoncelli, he was at the World Superbike round at Monza trying Jonathan Rea’s Castrol Honda on for size, however his Gresini Honda MotoGP team quickly dispelled any speculation that he’ll contest a WSBK round or two for Honda this year. Funnily enough, they also confirmed they are building him a Superbike to test on!
  • During testing at Misano this week it was Carlos Checa back to his best with a new lap record for the Ducati Althea team. Checa only just scraped into the top 10 at Monza last weekend, struggling with the speed (or lack of) from the 1198. Once back to Misano it was the regular Checa who returned to the top.
  • Want to know just how much Ducati’s 1198 struggled in a straight line at Monza? Well apparently the top Superstock 1000 speed of Lorenzo Zanetti through the speed trap was quicker on his S 1000 RR when there were no drafts involved.
  • How about the top speed of Max Biaggi’s factory Aprilia RSV4 at Monza? 334.8km/h during qualifying two!

That’s all for this week, thank you as always for stopping by.

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