It isn’t a good moment for World Superbike racers. Just a few weeks following Joan Lascorz’s horrific crash at the post race test at Imola, Effenbert Liberty’s Brett McCormick is now in the hospital facing some serious and multiple injuries.

20-year old McCormick was riding in 11th in Race 2 at Assen, when he crashed out heavily at turn 12, he was transported to the medical centre where he was diagnosed with fractures to his cervical vertebrae - seemingly without any neurological consequences - a facial trauma, and fractured finger in his right hand. He was transferred to Groningen Hospital for further examination.

Effenbert Liberty Racing press release:

The Effenbert Liberty Racing Team announces that Brett McCormick, following the disastrous crash in race two this afternoon in Assen, after the control in the circuit medical center, has suffered the trauma of the cervical spine, facial trauma with a hematoma to the eye sockets as well as a fracture of the fifth finger of his right hand, and he was sent to Assen hospital for further evaluation.

The result of more checks carried out that there was a fracture to the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae, apparently without neurological involvement, so Brett has been transferred in the Groningen’ hospital, where it will decide how to stabilize the injuries. Further updates will follow as soon as possible.”

The Canadian Superbike champion started the season at Imola after Effenbert Liberty decided to pull the rug out from their announced Superstock effort and promoted him to World Superbikes to field a four rider strong team, with Sylvain Guintoli, Jakub Smrz and Maxime Berger.

Video of the incident after the jump:

Derbi - the Spanish manufacturer controlled by Piaggio - presented at the 2011 SEMA the Senda DRD 50 range, which is composed of two lines: R (Racing enduro) and SM (Supermoto). Moreover, both these DRD 50 lines will offer X-Treme and Racing versions of the model, which will underline Derbi’s sporty attitude.

The two X-Treme machines (Enduro and Supermotard) uses LED rear light technology, multifunctional instrument panel and aluminum double cradle frame. Both model are powered by a 50 cc single-cylinder two-stroke engine with liquid cooling system and 6 speed gearbox and use a 36 mm hydraulic fork on the front (190 mm travel) and a monoshock on the rear (182 mm travel). Same engine for S and RM version of Derbi Senda DRD Racing, but they are equipped with top notch suspension for this category: 40 mm hydraulic fork on the front (195 mm travel) and a monoshock with progressive link system on the rear (182 mm travel)

The whole lot also share the massive - probably oversized -braking system: 260 mm discs on the front and 220 mm on the rear. However, the main difference between the R and SM lines is the type of wheels they use: the R enduro bikes are equipped with 21” on the front and 18” on the rear and fitted with off-road tyres while the SM uses 17″ super light wheels on front and back wearing regular tarmac wheels.

There’s no stopping Carlos Checa.The Althea Racing rider devasted the field with his new Superpole record at Nurburgring, stopping the clock at 1.54.144 in SP3 and dropping four tenths from the previous record, but he had to keep Yamaha’s Eugene Laverty at bay throughout the three Superpole sessions.

Laverty will take off right beside Checa, while injured Max Biaggi battled to third and Marco Melandri grabbed fourth but at little less than seventh tenths off pace. All four front row starters have won races this year and have another pace compared to the rest of the field.

Coming in fourth and heading the second row, sees the welcome return of a rejuvenated Nori Haga followed by Tom Sykes on the PBM Kawasaki with BMW’s Leon Haslam right beside him. Sylvain Guintoli who almost didn’t make it past SP2 took eighth, after using up all his qualifying tire allotment in the previous two stints.

Castrol Honda’s Jonathan Rea was ninth after Guintoli pushed him out of 8th in SP2 with a last flying lap. Jakub Smrz ended up 10th followed Pedercini’s Mark Aitchison and Michel Fabrizio who crashe out in SP1 trying to tag Carlos Checa.

WSBK Nurburgring Superpole final results:

1. Carlos Checa (Althea Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’54.144
2. Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1’54.512
3. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’54.743
4. Marco Melandri (Yamaha World Superbike Team) Yamaha YZF R1 1’54.818
5. Noriyuki Haga (PATA Racing Team Aprilia) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.113
6. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team Superbike) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’55.223
7. Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1’55.237
8. Sylvain Guintoli (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’55.249
9. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1’55.321
10. Jakub Smrz (Team Effenbert-Liberty Racing) Ducati 1098R 1’55.598
11. Mark Aitchison (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’55.625
12. Michel Fabrizio (Team Suzuki Alstare) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1’56.177
13. Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1’55.633
14. Maxime Berger (Supersonic Racing Team) Ducati 1098R 1’55.811
15. Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 1’56.101
16. Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’56.162
17. Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) BMW S1000 RR 1’56.401
18. James Toseland (BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team) BMW S1000 RR 1’56.637
19. Roberto Rolfo (Team Pedercini) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1’56.996
20. Makoto Tamada (Castrol Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1’57.950

More bad news for Spain’s motorcycle industry and workers after Yamaha’s decision to transfer their production line from Palau-solit i Plegamans to France now Piaggio has also decided to transfer the production of the historic Derbi factory from Martorelles in Barcelona to Italy.

Derbi was a Catalan motorbike company founded in the early 1920s and was bought in 2001 by Piaggio and currently employs 230 workers and according to Piaggio the closure of the plant is “rationalising the Group production network in Europe, guaranteeing greater efficiency and productivity, the move will strengthen the competitiveness of Derbi vehicles to support the growth of the Spanish brand’s market share.”

The unions believe that it isn’t just the waning sales of Derbi scooters on the Spanish market, last year the company built 24,000 units and the forecast for 2011 is 20,000, but the decision is “a way of satisfying the Italian government, the trade unions and the workers” after the company transferred part of their production to Vietnam.

With unemployment at almost 21%, this new pullout will not only leave Derbi workers without jobs, but also the hundreds of supplying companies that revolve around the motorcycle industry and according to motorcycle website motorpasionmoto.com even the Suzuki plant in Gijón is at risk.

We promise this is very last you’ll be hearing about this year’s 2011 Ducati and Ferrari Vrooom event, but we couldn’t let you miss seeing this last video that sums up the entire week’s activities, with some behind the scenes that you may have missed and we’re sure couldn’t live without seeing.

Enjoy.

While the media was captivated with the 2011 Vrooom and Valentino Rossi, the newest team in MotoGP, Czech based Cardion AB Motoracing debuted their Ducati GP11 livery for the upcoming race season, which to say the least, is much more sober than Rossi’s.

We all know that Karel Abraham will debuting on the bike and that daddy Abraham Senior (owner of the Brno circuit and Cardion, the large medical equipment company) made this all possible.“We are very satisfied with the cooperation with Ducati,” said Abraham Sr. “All the team members are professionals. They are working very well and together they create a great team. and talking about his son said, “Compared to the previous year when rookies Bautista and Barbera were three seconds slower than the fastest riders, Karel lost only 1.7 seconds, although Lorenzo was as fast as he was during the race weekend.”

Karel who turned 21 earlier this month, will one of the six Ducati riders alongside Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Loris Capirossi, Randy De Puniet and Hector Barbera, and has been in Grand Prix racing since 2005. In last year’s Moto2 championship finishd 10th in the standings with a first place in Valencia (what a last lap thriller that was) and a third place at Motegi, and speaking during the unveiling party said: “The bike is much more difficult to control and requires perfect physical fitness. “After the second test we could have the first indications of how much we will be successful this year.”

Source | motoblog.it

World Superbike BMW Motorrad Motorsport team was at the Mugello doing development work with test rider Steve Martin, and as we anticipated last month, Jakub Smrz got his chance to ride Troy Corser’s official BMW S 1000 RR.

Team Pata B&G are not completely satisfied with their Ducati’s and are thinking of switching marques and are already in talks with Aprilia and BMW to see if either of these manufacturers are willing to supply them with the motorcycles.

On Tuesday Smrz re-learned the track (the last time he was at the Mugello was back when he was riding in the 125cc and 250cc GP championships) and learned at little about the difficulties in setting up the German superbike and on Wednesday the Czech rider put in about thirty laps with track temperatures reaching 60°C and an unofficial best lap in the 1.53’s.

The rumours that the Czech rider may be moving to Tardozzi’s BMW team next year are growing stronger, however other riders may be on the Italian team manager’s shopping list and that includes BMW Motorrad Italia STK Team Superstock rider Artyon Baldovini, who is dominating the championship, but Max Neukirchner is also looking for a ride in the German team and a German rider on a German bike would no doubt make BMW management very happy, despite Neukirchner’s very dismal season so far.

Team BMW Motorrad Superbike will then move on to Misano for further testing, with Aprilia, Suzuki and Yamaha, while all the Ducati teams, factory and private will be at the WDW on Saturday and Sunday, followed by testing on Monday.

Source | moto.it

If Race 1 at the Circuit van Drenthe in Assen was real corker, Race 2 was heart attack time for fans with Jonathan Rea taking second win and leading another all British podium.

In a thrilling race that saw eight riders who battled it out in all through the 22 lap race that could have seen anyone land on the podium in Race 2, saw Rea fighting with Leon Haslam and Leon Camier and mostly with Troy Corser, who put up another fantastic race, but in the end would finish in fifth across the line

Leon Haslam took second spot, after a punctured tire left him 11th in Race 1. Pocket Rocket would finish 1.9 seconds behind Rea, but in the standings he pulled a little more ahead from his closest rival Max Biaggi, who settled for a fourth place, thinking about the championship.

James Toseland was third this time, albeit after a very aggressive and spectacular Leon Camier threw his podium spot away by touching the grass with the wheels of his Aprilia and ended up with high speed crash on the penultimate lap.

Althea Ducati’s Carlos Checa took sixth and Jakub Smrz on another private Ducati was seventh. Shane Byrne took the eighth spot with Rea’s teammate Max Neukirchner in 9th and BMW’s Ruben Xaus, despite another series of crashes in this Dutch weekend, rounded out the top 10.

Another forgettable weekend for the Xerox Ducati team with Noriyuki Haga retiring due to mechanical problems and very frustrated and confused Michel Fabrizio finishing 12th behind Luca Scassa on the private Supersonic Ducati.

Other crashers were Tom Sykes and Lorenzo Lanzi.

The standings now see Haslam leading with 148 punti against Biaggi’s 128 points and Rea’s 110 di Rea. Carlos Checa is fourth with 103 points ahead of James Toseland who now has 86 points.

Assen Race 2 Results:

1 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 35′43.137 (167,85 kph)
2 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1.942
3 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 3.928
4 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F. 4.067
5 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 4.176
6 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 4.525
7 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 4.682
8 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 7.698
9 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 9.903
10 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 11.465
11 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 15.489
12 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 23.604
13 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 29.085
14 77 Vermeulen C. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 35.401
15 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 44.330
16 95 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 50.830
17 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 58.819
RET 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F.
RET 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1
RET 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R
RET 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R
RET 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R

Alitalia, Italy’s former national airline company, now called Alitalia-CAI is close to closing a two year sponsorship deal with Aprilia’s Superbike factory team.

CAI is owned by a group of Italian investors led by Piaggio’s President Roberto Colaninno who also controls Aprilia, Derbi, Gilera, Vespa, Guzzi and Scarabeo. Colaninno is believed to be behind Aprilia’s dropping out of Moto2 in order to concentrate all their efforts in winning the Superbike title next year.

Alitalia has sponsored four wheel racing teams in the past such as the FIAT 131 Abarth and the Lancia Stratos.

Source | sbkpoint

The guy in the video is Richard Gryzch who claims that this is the world’s first solar charged electric motorbike that can travel up to 50 miles on a full charge and hits a top speed of 9o mph.

The Solar Flyer as it’s called by Gryzch has taken him more than two years to build and to finance his project sold his other motorcycles and even a house.

“Everyone told me I was crazy for doing it, but I’m riding it and it works. And it could change everything. No gas, just hit the throttle and go. People look at me at the stop light and just say, ‘What is that?’ I just shrug my shoulders and tell them, it’s solar powered.”

Derbi has presented its new Buolevard range for 2009 in 50cc 2T and 125cc 4T versions. The agile scooters are adapted to both a young public, and adults who need something small and zippy for the city.

The 12 inch wheels with a low and wide seat make the Boulevard comfortable and easy to ride, even with a passenger, especially in city traffic. The two engine options are made for young riders with the 50cc two-stroke, while the 125cc four stroke is designed as a more powerful, but economic engine easy to maintain.

The new Derbi Boulevard 125 4T is available at a price of 1,990 euros in colours white, black and grey. The 50 2T will be available from May in red, white and black colours at a price of 1,490 euros.

Ben Spies won his second race of the WSBK season in Qatar on his Yamaha R1, even if he didn’t have a brilliant start from the pole position he obtained yesterday, leaving the lead to an impressive Max Biaggi on an even more impressive Aprilia RSV4, with Haga, Smrz, Spies all Nakano all following the Black Corsair.

On lap 5, the Texan slipstreamed both Jakub Smrz and Shinya Nakano and took third place. The following 8 laps Spies put in a series of fast laps but never overtaking the two in front of him until on the 13th lap when NitroNori gave up on a pass on Biaggi and found Spies overtaking him, and when Biaggi who made a small error he then found Spies in front of him.

Spies with a clear field in front of him left Biaggi and Haga battling for 2nd place with Haga getting the best of Biaggi on the second to last lap when the Roman ran wide. On the final lap Biaggi and Haga exchanged places, but it was Haga who crossed the finish line just in front of the Roman Emperor.

Race 1 Results:

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 36′06.304 (160,93 kph)
2 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1.893
3 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 2.168
4 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 12.061
5 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 12.597
6 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 12.971
7 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 13.570
8 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 19.306
9 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 19.388
10 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 20.981
11 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 21.164
12 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 21.994
13 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 22.917
14 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 27.218
15 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 31.602
16 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 33.934
17 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 47.496
18 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 47.505
19 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 59.278
20 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 59.295
21 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 59.338
22 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1′04.008
RET 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R
RET 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R
RET 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R
RET 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9
RET 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR