There are two famous ‘Mountains’ with the capital M in motorcycle racing: one of them is the famous Mountain section of the Isle of Man’s Tourist Trophy course, the other one is the Mountain of Cadwell Park, a motor racing circuit in Lincolnshire, England. Even if you are not into British Superbikes, if you have seen Cadwell Park’s Mountain by chance you surely remember it, there’s no two ways around it. If you are not familiar with it, here’s your chance to make up for it.

The Mountain of Cadwell Park is a natural hump covered in tarmac that riders have to face while speeding out of a tight left-right ‘S’, and it’s where bikes for a while can become airborne by up to several feet, for the delight of photographers and fans alike. The video above is a breathtaking compilation of slow-mo clips featuring comments - among others - from BSB stars a Joshua Brooks and Shane Byrne. The footage is indeed pretty amazing, and we are 100% sure that even if you already know the Mountain of Cadwell Park very well, you won’t miss the chance to check this out anyway.

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Rémi Gaillard is a French humorist who likes to poke fun at institutions and likes questioning public norms, and his latest stunt involves France’s very much hated speed cameras.

The above video went viral on YouTube in less than month garnering over 10 million hits, so even if you’re a driver or a rider that recently got a speeding ticket, Gaillard’s little stunt will make you feel slightly better.

Source | motosblog.fr

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Don’t expect to find Ducati, an Aprilia or a Moto Guzzi to be the best selling motorcycle in Italy, that title in 2011 went to the BMW R1200 GS (5.134 units sold) and to celebrate the model a special website for GS riders has been launched called ‘GS Attitude’ (in Italian only so far).

GS Attitude is where GS riders can post their personal thoughts, stories and photos of their adventures and they even have their own seven point manifesto:

Some people prefer the stars to a 5 star hotels
There are those who challenge the intense cold because the road warms the heart
It doesn’t matter where you sleep, but when you start.
Some people don’t choose the destination, but the trip
There are those who still prefer the fascination of silence and history
There are those who create their own trails
There are those who still believe in adventure and the challenge

Check out the video to see some great footage from the winners of their latest contest.

Source | motoblog.it

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It’s boiling hot at Sepang for day 2 of MotoGP testing, and currently leading the charts at 3pm local time is Ben Spies, closely followed by team mate Jorge Lorenzo. Reigning World champion Casey Stoner is back on track after being forced to sit out day one due to a pulled muscle in his back and is now chasing the Yamaha duo.

Repsol Honda team mate Dani Pedrosa who is testing a slightly revised chassis is in fourth. Cal Crutchlow continues to impress on the 1000cc, while Alvaro Bautista has made a big jump forward in the timesheets.

Ducati test rider Franco Battaini is now riding Nicky Hayden’s GP12 as the American has been forced to withdrawfor the rest day due shoulder pain.The lap times listed for Battaini are actually Hayden’s first laps.

After yesterday’s probably premature excitement regarding the Ducati Phoenix, Valentino Rossi has dropped down into eighth and losing over 1.3 seconds from the top of the charts. MotoGP rookie Stefan Bradl binned his RC213V earlier in the day, but didn’t suffer any consequences.

Test MotoGP Sepang Day 2 - Test times at 3pm

01 Ben Spies 2:01.052 - - 20
02 Jorge Lorenzo 2:01.144 +0.092 +0.092 26
03 Casey Stoner 2:01.245 +0.101 +0.193 16
04 Dani Pedrosa 2:01.638 +0.393 +0.586 19
05 Cal Crutchlow 2:01.710 +0.072 +0.658 24
06 Alvaro Bautista 2:02.065 +0.355 +1.013 23
07 Franco Battaini 2:02.354 +0.289 +1.302 63
08 Valentino Rossi 2:02.400 +0.046 +1.348 23
09 Stefan Bradl 2:02.414 +0.014 +1.362 25
10 Andrea Dovizioso 2:02.506 +0.092 +1.454 24
11 Hector Barbera 2:02.597 +0.091 +1.545 27
12 Karel Abraham 2:03.050 +0.453 +1.998 39
13 Katsuyuki Nakasuga 2:03.323 +0.273 +2.271 22
14 Colin Edwards 2:06.819 +3.496 +5.767 18
15 Ivan Silva 2:10.297 +3.478 +9.245 9
16 Robertino Pietri 2:12.546 +2.249 +11.494 5

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Just a little more than three months ago, Marco Simoncelli lost his life during the Sepang GP and now the MotoGP teams are back in Malaysia for the official pre-season three day test that kicks off tomorrow and it will be a very emotional return for everyone present.

To remember that fatal afternoon and to pay their respects to one of their own, yesterday in the silence that will be soon be broken by the scream of the 1000cc engines, numerous members of HRC’s pit crew gathered at the particular part of the circuit to lay a bouquet of flowers and a silent pray for late rider.

We’ll be missing you, Sic.

Photo Source | hrc motogp@twitter.com

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Remember this promotional video of the KTM Freeride 350 with Dakar winner Cyril Despres and mountain bike rider Cedric Gracia riding around the Andorran mountains?

Apparently the film crew did not obtain the necessary permits from the Ministry of Tourism and Enviroment to ride along the Casamanya Peak and other spots of the Andorran Pyrenees and one of the city councils has started legal action to fine both two riders (Despres resides in the Andorran town of Arinsal) for ‘violating’ the area without permission and the fine could be between 50 and 500 euros, which is really peanuts if you compare the feedback and publicity that the Freeride 350 received after this video.

Source | motofan.com

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The Association of European Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM) in their yearly industry meeting have released the provisional data regarding overall sales in 2011 and the numbers as we expected are pretty frightening, a -37% over the last year, with just a little over 1.7 million units sold.

The economic climate across Europe with numerous countries on the verge of default following the sovereign debt crisis, the credit crunch, record high unemployment, unpopular government austerity measures that has taken more money out taxpayers pockets have all contributed to this decline in sales.

Despite this dire situation the ACEM believes that they can regain market sales if manufacturers concentrate more on a sustainable mobility landscape “the future goals are focused on products with different content, smaller bikes, efficient, or green, as opposed to absolute numbers of sports models, which are on the wane. The market recovery should come marked by the goal of recognition of the bike as a vehicle for sustainable mobility priority.”

Source | acem.eu

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You have probably seen them already hanging around in a MotoGP garage or holding an umbrella on the starting grid, but have you ever wondered how the real life of a hot Monster Energy girl really is? Yes, you got it: photo sessions, events, clubbing and then more photo sessions, events and clubbing. That’s what paddock girls are supposed to do anyway, isn’t it? Plus, it seems like never feel the need to put any heavy clothes on.

Joking aside, here is a video that has just surfaced on Monster’s official youtube page starring their sexy testimonials, who can be spotted at many racing events around the world. We thought it would have been a nice idea to share it with our readers, but in case that’s not enough, here’s also an official photo gallery we just borrowed from our twin site Motoblog.it.

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The news went a little unnoticed, but the recent 2012 India Auto Expo saw the unveiling of a quite interesting new motorcycle, the Continental GT, by historic brand Royal Enfield. Basically it is the first new motorcycle to come out with a Royal Enfield badge on the tank in over 40 years. The model is a concept cafe racer that recalls the lines of the original ‘British’ Continental GT - a model that was quite popular in Europe in the late 60s - and it also shares the same 500 cc engine with its illustrious ancestor, but it has never been less ‘British’ than this. With the exception of its 500 cc single-cylinder unit, this new Continental GT is their first bike ever to have been completely designed in India, with no parts lifted from the historic English models of the past.

However, Royal Enfield has become a fully-fledged Indian manufacturer by now. In case you missed the last episodes, back in 1949 the ‘old’ Royal Enfield opened a satellite operation in Madras, India, and in 1955 the Indian government chose their 350cc Bullet model as bike of choice for both police and army, making an enormous order for it. The English manufacturer shut doors in 1967, but the Indian plant just became independent and kept on producing the Bullet 350 and 500cc for years and years. And they are still doing it today: Royal Enfield of India now holds the rights on the name and sells several variants of the Bullet - some of which under a different name - in over twenty countries across the globe.

Even though the Continental GT is loyal to the classic old school ‘British’ design, the model represents a huge step forward for the company, the first real attempt at something different than the usual Bullet-based product. Unfortunately, no information has been released yet about production, performance and technical specs of the new Continental GT, but the work done so far by the Indian engineers is actually pretty interesting and worthy of attention. We will be waiting for more news on the subject.

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Kawasaki presents a whole new range of ‘Special Edition’ versions of its 2012 line up. The models that received this ‘Special Edition’ treatment are the Versys 1000 Grand Tourer, City and Tourer, the VN1700 and VN900 Light Tourer, Ninja ZX-6R Performance, W800 SE, 1400 GTR Grand Tourer, Z1000SX Tourer, Z750R Black Edition and Z1000 Black Edition. At the moment, all we know about this new series is what we can make out of the pictures released by the Japanese manufacturer, but no information about technical details or pricing is currently available.

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