With 18 Grand Prix races in 14 countries, Moto GP is the world’s premier motorcycling championship. Over the past decade, Moto GP has really stepped up their game by allowing the evolution of the four-stroke engine in bikes, and while we wish Moto GP style bikes were street legal, these bad boys are purpose-built racing machines meant strictly for dominating the competition. By doing this, it has allowed for the sport to become a spectacle as racers hit corners faster and compete on new levels. Pair this with faces such as Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, and you’ve got one of the most invigorating forms of racing to ever exist. Seriously, if you aren’t in the know, check out the Moto GP website here, and make sure to gear up for the 2010 race season.
Need some visual proof to the ground work I laid out above? Check out this video I found on the Moto GP channel on youtube. It gives you a sneak peek at some of the best action from Valencia 2009. Enjoy!!
In June of every year the biggest names in motorcycle sport head to the UK for what is arguably the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world. The Isle of Mann sits about half way between Britain and Ireland in the Irish Sea. The best teams, manufacturers and fans come from all across the globe to witness the legend that is the Isle of Man TT.
Images from Iom.com and Wikimedia.com
The official website – www.iomtt.com features highlights videos, photos, important information and results of the 2009 race. You can also purchase tickets, DVDs, Collectables and schwag at the official Isle of Man Shop.
They’re already planning the 2010 festival starting May 29th. As they put it “TT will burst into life for another two weeks of the most awesome between-the-hedges racing you can witness anywhere on Earth”.
If you haven’t seen this before, You’ve got to check out some YouTube videos immediatley. There’s a few good ones posted below and you’ll clearly see the level of insanity. If you’re familiar with the race, hopefully you’re one of the lucky few to have attended or actually raced it. The Pure Racing crew would relish any comments or nuggets of wisdom from anyone who’s ridden or spectacted this race. And just to show some love to the civilians, couch potatoes and non-brits, HD Theatre has been airing all the heats the entire month of November. You can see when it airs here.
Photos courtesy of MotorcycleNews.com and WikiMedia
The first race was in 1907 and saw single-cylinder and twin cylinder classes where the winners averaged about 36 -38 mph. Now a days, the superbikes are averaging over 130 mph with top speeds approaching 200 mph. This 37 mile track is very unforgiving with 300+ turns. The hair pin turns and straight aways are riddled with jumps narrowing to just a few feet between stone walls.
They run several classes from Junior sport, 125 and 250cc, 360 Superstock & Supersport 600cc, sidecar class, and the big time class featuring the biggest, fastest 1000cc Superbikes. The big manufacturers are heavily represented at the Isle of Man TT: Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. 2009 saw Honda sweep the top 5 spots during the main Dainese Superbike TT race.
Pure Racing’s B. Hatz says it perfectly, “These guys are f*ck*ng crazy!” I’ve yet to meet anyone to argue with that.
