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Pendakwa Raya Thailand akan mendakwa bekas ketua polis yang dituduh membantu pewaris syarikat minuman tenaga Red Bull mengelak daripada dakwaan membunuh. Suspek itu dituduh membunuh seorang pegawai polis dalam kemalangan langgar lari pada 2012.

Bekas Ketua Polis Thailand, Somyot Poompanmoun dan tujuh pegawai yang lain didakwa kerana tidak melaksanakan tugas mereka dan membantu individu tertentu untuk mengelak daripada dikenakan hukuman.

Somyot, 69 tahun, dituduh menggunakan jawatannya sebagai ahli jawatankuasa undang-undang Parlimen untuk membantu Vorayuth Yoovidhya. Somyot bagaimanapun, menafikan tuduhan berkenaan kepada media Thailand.

Ketika berusia 27 tahun pada 2012, Vorayuth dituduh merempuh seorang anggota polis, Wichien Klanprasert dengan Ferrari miliknya dan menyeret badan mangsa sejauh puluhan meter. Vorayuth kemudiannya melarikan diri dari tempat kejadian.

Vorayuth terlepas sebanyak lapan saman mahkamah berhubung kes terbabit sebelum pihak berkuasa mengeluarkan waran tangkap lima tahun selepas kejadian itu. Dia telah malrikan diri ke luar negara dan keberadaannya tidak diketahui sehingga kini.

Pada 2020, Polis Thailand dilaporkan akan meneliti mengapa pertuduhan jenayah berkenaan digugurkan. Pengguguran kes itu telah membangkitkan kemarahan orangramai.

Mendiang datuk Vorayuth, Chaleo Yoovidhya merupakan pengasas minuman tenaga Krating Daeng (bagi pasaran tempatan pada mulanya), yang akhirnya menjadi salah seorang pengasas Red Bull (untuk pasaran global) bersama Dietrich Mateschitz.

Forbes meletakkan keluarga itu kedua terkaya di Thailand dengan nilai kekayaan bersih AS$33.4 bilion (RM159.55 bilion).

  • The Tech 3 team will also leave Moto2 in 2020 following KTM’s withdrawal.

  • As such, they will team up with KTM and Red Bull to form a new team in Moto3.

  • It’s a turbulent period for the Austrian manufacturer.

The Tech 3 team will also leave Moto2 in 2020 following KTM’s withdrawal.

KTM had made the announcement after the Austrian Grand Prix over the weekend. The decision was made to focus on MotoGP, while bringing the Husqvarna brand back to roadracing.

As such, Tech 3 will team up with KTM and Red Bull to form a new team in Moto3.

Tech 3 team principal Herve Poncharal says that he understands KTM position to strengthen their involvement in MotoGP and Moto3. To him, the Moto3 class is where new talents are generated for the MotoGP class.

This will the first time for Tech 3 to compete in the Moto3 class. Tech 3 was first involved with KTM in Moto2 in 2010, using the Mistral 610 engine. Their MotoGP effort switched to KTM this year after partnering with Yamaha for more than 20 years.

He also added that they have to spend the next few months to search for suitable riders.

The decision is somewhat ominous for Hafizh Syahrin, who was offered a spot in Tech 3’s Moto2 effort. His options are limited now, but there are rumours that he will take over from Khairul Idham Pawi in the PETRONAS Sprinta Racing Team. Following this, Khairul Idham will be moved back to Moto3 and takes the place of Ayumu Sasaki who is leaving the team at the end of the year.

It’s also a tumultuous time for KTM with letting Hafizh Syahrin go and losing Johann Zarco a year early.

  • Johann Zarco announces that he will leave KTM at the end of the 2019 MotoGP season.

  • The announcement was made on his Facebook after the Austrian GP weekend.

  • There’s no news where he will go since all seats in MotoGP are taken.

The Austrian GP weekend has been full of bombshells, and now Johann Zarco announced that he will leave KTM in 2020.

Zarco made the announcement through his Facebook account. The decision was made after discussions with KTM at the Red Bull Ring, considered to be the factory’s home race.

Although it’s well-known that the two-time Moto2 champion has been struggling the whole season on the KTM RC16, it was still a great surprise to see him leave with such haste, as there is no opening in MotoGP next year. But he must’ve been contemplating on leaving for some time.

Zarco had high-profile falling out with the team since Jerez earlier this year. He was caught calling the bike’s chassis and suspension “sh*t” on “live” TV after returning from a crash. He also had scathing words for the bike during an interview, which prompted a public reprimand from KTM’s CEO Stefan Pierer.

Perhaps all these started when Jorge Lorenzo bandied himself for a return to Ducati, at Jack Miller’s expense in the Pramac Ducati squad. KTM stood by to offer Miller a contract should he lose his Pramac seat. That would mean KTM will remove Zarco.

Then Lorenzo turned around and spoke to Repsol Honda boss Alberto Puig that he will continue with his contract through 2020. Consequently, Miller’s place in Pramac was also confirmed.

Now KTM has a vacant slot for next year. Pol Espargaro will continue with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team, while Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder will ride for the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 Racing Team.

Only time will tell who KTM will pick and Zarco’s future.

  • KTM telah melancarkan ke semua pasukan Moto3, Moto2, dan MotoGP mereka bagi musim 2019.
  • Mereka akan tampil dengan dua buah pasukan dalam MotoGP, di mana kedua-dua pasukan ini akan menggunakan jentera yang sama.
  • Pasukan-pasukan ini adalah Red Bull KTM Factory Racing dan Red Bull KTM Tech 3 Racing.

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  • KTM has launched all their MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 teams for 2019.

  • There will be two teams in MotoGP, but both are using the same bikes.

  • They are Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech 3 Racing.

KTM launched their MotoGP teams tonight. They are known as the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech 3 Racing teams, respectively.

The “all-in” event also included KTM teams, bikes and riders from Moto2 and Moto3 classes. Additionally, KTM is represented by two teams on factory machinery.

In one corner is the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, with Pol Espargaro and Johann Zarco as riders. This team’s KTM RC16 uses the traditional Red Bull KTM livery.

In the other corner is the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 Racing team, with our boy Hafizh Syahrin and Miguel Oliveira as riders. Their KTM RC16 are finished in a new orange, blue and silver livery. Hafizh promised during the special press conference and meet the fans session during the Sepang Winter Test, that the new livery will be replicated on a special edition KTM RC390 in Malaysia.

Both teams will contest on the factory KTM RC16, as the manufacturer is eager to collect twice the data in half the time in developing the bike. Although it still needs much development as Zarco said, Europe’s largest motorcycle maker could not shake their excitement.

After all, KTM’s morale and determination took a huge boost when Pol Espargaro put the bike on the podium for the first time last season in Valencia. Meanwhile, the retention of veteran KTM test rider Mika Kallio and signing of Dani Pedrosa as the new test rider will keep the program rolling at a high pace. Unfortunately, Pedrosa broke his collarbone and is out for three more months. However, KTM are allowed concessions for testing and development under MotoGP rules. Making full use of this leeway, KTM brought out several engines with different specs at Sepang.

The new bikes will hit the track from 20th February. Until then, let’s just enjoy the photos of the RC16 from both camps. All photos are from KTM and published in MotoGP.com.

  • Pada bulan Jun yang lalu, Dani Pedrosa telah mengumumkan bahawa dia akan bersara dari perlumbaan MotoGP pada penghujung musim 2018.
  • Dani, yang baharu sahaja memasuki usia 33 tahun, telah berjaya menaiki podium MotoGP sebanyak 33 kali, namun tidak pernah memenangi kejohanan dunia tersebut.
  • Pasukan Bull KTM telah merebut peluang ini dan mengambil Dani sebagai penunggang uji rasmi mereka bagi membangunkan jentera perlumbaan KTM RC16 mereka.
  • Dia akan bekerjasama dengan penunggang kelahiran Finlad, Mika Kallio.

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  • Dani Pedrosa announced in July that he was going to retire from MotoGP racing at the end of the 2018 season. 
  • Dani, who recently turned 33, has been on the Grand Prix podium over 33 times, but has never won a world championship. 
  • Red Bull KTM has stepped up and hired Dani as a official test rider to develop the KTM RC16. 
  • He will work alongside Mika Kallio. 

Dani Pedrosa may not have won a world championship but he has come pretty darn close a few times. There is no doubt that he is one of the best riders on the Grand Prix grid, so it was quite sad when he announced that he was going to retire at the end of the 2018 season (click here to read about Dani’s retirement).

But as with many great riders retirement does not mean the end of their careers, it is just the beginning of another great career, and for Pedrosa, that new career starts at Red Bull KTM.

The Austrian team recently announced that the current Repsol Honda Team rider will be the official test rider for the team’s MotoGP line-up in 2019 and 2020.

Pedrosa, who raced in the premier class for 13 seasons, will work alongside Mika Kallio to develop the KTM RC16, which has been competing in MotoGP for three years now.

Pedrosa who recently turned 33, has over 30 MotoGP wins and over 50 wins in all classes. He has three world titles but none in the premier class, and has been on the MotoGP podium over 110 times.

Source: MotoGP

Miguel Oliveira will graduate to MotoGP in 2019 after signing a new deal with the Tech 3 squad.

The 23-year-old Portuguese racer will be the first rider that will go through the entire Red Bull KTM system.

From Red Bull Rookies Cup all the way up to MotoGP, Oliveira has been a rising star which has given KTM a good number of wins in his career.

Current Moto2 championship contender Miguel Oliveira will be heading up to the premier MotoGP class in 2019. This was confirmed in Jerez last weekend when he signed a deal with the Tech 3 squad. Oliveira will also be the first rider to go through the entire Red Bull KTM system all the way up to MotoGP. (more…)

  • We had the opportunity to sit down for chat with Chris Birch.

  • Chris Birch was here to coach during the KMOG/KTM Malaysia Weekend Adventure with Chris Birch.

  • It was an eye-opening event to learn about what makes him tick.

We sat down for a chat with Chris Birch after the offroad clinic and trail ride. If there’s something to learn about the experience in the world’s toughest offroad competitions and KTM’s adventure bikes, there’s most probably no other guy.

(Click here for our coverage of the first day and here for the second day.)

The more we chatted through the night, the more we discovered that Chris isn’t just a champion, he’s a regular guy who loves bikes and offroading. Additionally, and no less importantly, he also coaches very well by articulating his instructions in easily-digested nuggets not only for the pros, but especially for the newbies. Let’s be honest, how many champ riders could truly teach? Participants could also get up right next to him and approach him at any point of time to post questions and chat.

Try that with No. 46.

Anyway, we decided to just have a relaxed chat with Chris Birch, rather than conduct a formal interview. A few of the participants had formed a circle around him at this point and it was an eye-opening experience for all of us.

Bikes Republic (BR): You’ve competed in the Dakar Rally and being New Zealand’s most successful effort. How was it like for you?
Chris Birch (CB): It was difficult because my experience of The Dakar is not many people want to hear. For me personally it was okay. Yes, people say it’s “THE MOST GRUELLING EVENT EVER, THE MOST DIFFICULT OF ANY ENDURO” (with emphasis) – it’s not. It’s really not, from my experience.

The Roof of Africa was in December, The Dakar starts in January. I had a small injury before The Roof (in 2009) and my fitness was not where I wanted it to be and I came second. I did no training at all between The Roof and Dakar, (but) I had no problem whatsoever in Dakar.

I’d normally lose 3 – 5 kgs of bodyweight during the Romaniacs, I actually put on a kilogram during The Dakar. (Everyone laughed.)

It’s very mentally challenging ‘cause it’s very long days and the navigation was difficult, but I didn’t find it very physically challenging at all.

BR: Is it because it (The Dakar) was more speed-oriented?
CB: Yeah, yup.

I think also because I had the skills in the technical stuff, so I didn’t find the difficult parts that difficult. The high-speed parts, however, there were a few high-speed stages where I got off the bike and started trembling, “S**t, that was fast! Wooow!” We averaged more than 100 km/h in offroad stages (we rode around 50 – 60 km/h in the fastest sections earlier in the day). It was freaking scary.

You’re completely blind and navigating as well.

Also, I found that raising money for it was really, really stressful. It put a lot of stress on my family as well. That’s the reason I haven’t done it again. It’s so stressful finding the money.

BR: What was your best experience in the Romaniacs?
CB: The best experience was in the first year. It was my first year in extreme enduro. Many people told me I was crazy, even for going, and I came on the podium on that first year. So that was a real life-changing experience.

BR: What was your worse experience?
CB: Nearly chopping my private part off. (Laughs).

I went over the handlebar in the river and caught it on the handguard. Lots of blood, I was like, AAAAGH NOOOO! Definitely that was the worst experience.

BR: How about The Roof of Africa? Is it still running?
CB: Yeah, it is! I’d love to join again, but I won’t be able to compete for the win. I’d probably still get a Top Ten finish, that would be really nice.

BR: You’ve also competed in Hells Gate.
CB: The problem with Hells Gate is it’s in Italy in February. So, it’s freezing cold, it’s snowing, there’s ice in the rivers and while almost everyone in New Zealand is going to beach (it’s summer down there), and I kept thinking, what is wrong with me! Why am I doing this to myself? This is stupid!

BR: (Someone questioned about something in the Romaniacs).
CB: The event isn’t just about straight up riding. You need to look after yourself over five days on the motorbike. It’s tough.

BR: What you did today at the track looked a lot like trial riding? (Climbing over a huge boulder, climbing a nearly vertical hillside, etc.)
CB: That’s true, most people say it looks like trial riding, I guess it is both. I ride my enduro 70% more than my trail bike at home. I can do stuff on my enduro bike that I couldn’t on my trail bike.

I get to Australia and people say, “That’s a trails thing.” I answer, “No, it’s really not.”

BR: (Philip Ho asked, “What can’t you do on a trails bike?”)
CB: The last trials competition I did was a 2-day event. On the first day, I used my 300 KTM (KTM 300 EX/C two-stroke) and I put trials tyres on it. I used a trials bike on the second and did the same stuff on the KTM.

It was funny. There was one section with a steep hill climb. It had mud and a big rock. None of the trials guys could get up it. It was really muddy, so you couldn’t get the drive on the rock. I just went wide open in third gear and jumped the whole thing. It took me just 10 seconds for the whole section.

The marshals called out, “You ready?” I replied, “YEAH!” and just went “Rrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaargh” (the sound of the engine). The trials guys went like, “F*** you!” while flashing the “birdie.”

But there were a few sections where I couldn’t get the enduro to fit in there. I was great fun.

BR: Here’s a bit of a philosophical question. You’ve competed in the toughest events. You know it’s tough, but what makes you push yourself?
CB: It comes to the type of person you are. It becomes addicted too like the greater the challenge, the greater the high you get in overcoming that challenge. So, if you go to an extreme enduro and it’s not giving you enough challenge you go like, “Awwww,” (in disappointment) I don’t get the satisfaction at the end of it. It’s that the feeling of achievement. The deeper you have to dig inside yourself, the better the feeling at the end.

BR: It’s a lot like what’s for us today?
CB: Yeah, yeah! It’s like the Ironman or a marathon. It’s not that fun while doing it, but it’s the feeling you get after that, right?

BR: You’ve been involved with KTM and Red Bull since 2007?
CB: Actually, KTM since 2004. Red Bull was since 2007.

BR: How have they helped you? Have you been riding KTM all the way?
CB: Actually no. (Laughs.) KTM approached me in 1999/2000 and I looked at the bike (back then) and went “Uhhhh…..” I remembered thinking if this KTM brand was going to last, I think I’ll stay with Kawasaki. (Everyone laughed.)

It was different years later, the KTMs improved.

BR: Do you ride road bikes?
CB: No, just enduro.

I got on the KTM and thought this thing’s amazing. KTM improved an awful lot in those three years (2000 to 2003). The earlier bikes didn’t handle that great, but took a big leap forward. I got the (new) bikes and loved them straight away.

BR: (Philip Ho): So the earlier KTMs were bad?
CB: It’s not to say they’re bad, just different. You get off a Japanese bike and onto a KTM and they (KTM) felt very different.

BR: How long have you been riding and competing?
CB: I started riding when I was four. I started doing trials when I was ten. I started riding around with my Dad.

BR: (Philip Ho): How old you now?
CB: I’m thirty-seven.

BR: We were in Australia or a supermoto race a couple of years back. We saw a father buying a Yamaha PW50 for his two-year-old son. Is that why New Zealand has produced many champions? You guys start early?
CB: To be honest, I can’t remember starting to ride a motorbike.

Dad told me I used to drag all the cushions onto the floor and turned them into obstacles for trials riding for my plastic motorbike. My parents must have seen that was my interest.

My Mum and my Dad both ride

My Mum always said I went for my trials competition when I was two weeks old.

BR: You’ve been here a couple of times in Malaysia. What’s your observation of the offroad scene here?
CB: I think it’s pretty much growing and developing scene, which is exciting for you guys. It’s nice to be here at a time when it’s growing.

I followed what the guys had been doing down in Ulu Choh (Dirt Park). I see and watch on Facebook that they’re getting bigger and bigger, it’s gotta be good.

BR: How do you see the future here?

CB: The picture’s good. Definitely with the big bikes here (today). You guys are connected to big land masses, your opportunity to go on adventures and explore is huge. You can get on your bike and ride to different countries; we can’t do that in New Zealand.

BR: What’s your best enduro experience, if you have to pick just one?

CB: It’s definitely winning the Romaniacs. It was something I worked so hard for, for many year. I had to sacrifice so much of life to get there.

BR: What was or were the most difficult thing you encountered in these events?
CB: The most difficult thing has always been the lack of money. There’s not much sponsorship in New Zealand.

And people tend to think that I’m sponsored by Red Bull and KTM, there’s no concern for money, but I’d regularly be sleeping in people’s vans, like hitching a ride, that sort of stuff. Like not near enough money to do it.

BR: Really? That’s surprising!
CB: Yeah, it’s surprising. People think everything is taken care of, no issues, so I was always having to work, train and race at the same time. It’s really challenging and racing on secondhand tyres, that sort of thing.

People are like, “We want you to go to The Dakar again!” Man, if I could find the money, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

BR: What’s the best part about coaching?
CB: It’s when like I see these “lightbulb moments.” They come up and say, “That’s WHY I was struggling with that!” The number one goal is always to make people want to ride their bikes more often.

BR: What about difficult participants?
CB: When people are unwilling to change.

You can see people like thinking, “Yeah, yeah, I know better.’ It used to really bug me but now it’s like whatever. I’d rather focus my energy on those who really want to learn.

We used to get people coming and not listening. Then we put the prices up and they (the difficult people) went away.

No more people showing up late, showing up on broken bikes, all problems solved.

BR: Now it seems whenever there’s a new KTM adventure bike, you’re the first to have a go.
CB: Yeah, my role now is the KTM Adventure Ambassador for the factory.

BR: Thanks for the time, Chris. Hope to see you again!
CB: My pleasure, hope to be here again too!

(Click here for our coverage of the first day and here for the second day.)

 

  • Dougie Lampkin adalah satu-satunya penunggang yang berjaya melakukan aksi ‘wheelie’ mengelilingi litar Isle of Man TT.
  • Keseluruhan litar yang berjarak 60km yang mempunyai lebih daripada 200 selekoh, pertukaran ketinggian, lalulintas dan cuaca yang tidak menentu itu tidak dapat menghentikan kemaraan juara dunia motosikal ‘trial’ 12 kali yang berusia 40 tahun itu.
  • Dia mengambil masa 1 jam 35 minit untuk menunggang mengelilingi litar berkenaan di atas satu roda menggunakan motosikal ‘trial’ buatan khasnya, Vertigo Ice Hell 300.

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Dougie Lampkin is the first and only person who has successfully wheelied around the Isle of Man TT circuit.

The entire 60km-lap consisting of over 200 turns, elevation changes, traffic and unpredictable weather did not stop the 40-year-old 12-time motorcycle trials world champion.

It took him about an hour and 35 minutes to ride around the circuit on just one wheel using his custom Vertigo Ice Hell 300 trials bike.

Guy Martin on the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 (Image source: Grimsby Telegraph)

Ask any motorcycle enthusiast about the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy and the first thing you’ll get is a smile. It doesn’t matter if its nine-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi or just the average guy hanging out at your local workshop, the Isle of Man located between England and Ireland hosts the world’s greatest (and deadliest) motorcycle road race of all time, the TT. (more…)

Sumber imej: MotoGP

 

Kita semakin menghampiri penghujung musim MotoGP 2017, dan pusingan kedua terakhir iaitu Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix sudah pasti telah memberikan keseronokan yang tidak terhingga kepada mereka yang menghadirinya. Setelah mendapat status sebagai salah sebuah litar yang paling mencabar dalam kalendar MotoGP, Litar Antarabangsa Sepang sentiasa bersedia untuk memberi cabaran tambahan dengan cuaca yang tidak menentu.

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