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Sepang Test: Enea Bastianini Ends Day 2 As The Fastest

Enea Bastianini made surprise improvement towards the end of last season as the young Italian managed to collect 71 points during the final six rounds of the 2021 MotoGP season.

After making a switch to Gresini Racing onboard the Ducati GP21, the 24-year-old is among the fastest rider in Day 1 and 2 at the Official MotoGP Sepang Test.

Bastianini clocked second fastest in Day 1 with 1 minute 58.638 seconds, one of only two riders who managed to do under 1m58s alongside Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro who came out on top.

However, Bastianini further improve his lap time at Day 2 and emerged as the fastest rider of the day with 1m 58.131s ahead of Espargaro’s 1m 58.157s.

According to Bastianini, the Ducati GP21 offers a lot of improvements compared to Avintia’s Ducati GP19, the bike he rode throughout of his rookie season last year.

“I’ts better in every part of the track. You can brake later and also I like a lot the rear because it’s more stable.

“Especially when I have the new tyre on the rear I can open throttle aggressively compared to the GP19,” he said.

After making a great impression towards the end of the last season, the rider is expected to make a significant leap for 2022.

OFFICIAL: Danilo Petrucci To 2022 MotoAmerica

Former MotoGP rider and 2022 Dakar Rally stage winner, Danilo Petrucci will return to track racing after officially confirming that he will race at the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.

The Italian is set to enter race with Warhorse HSBK Ducati Racing onboard the Ducati Panigale V4.

He was previously confirmed to enter the race but needed the paperwork to be completed before making the official announcement.

The day has officially arrived and the former Ducati rider is excited over his return on a Ducati machine.

“I’m so happy that I am coming back to race with Ducati and I would like to give a special thank you to all the Ducait people who made this project possible,” said Petrucci in a statement.

“I spoke about this project with Eraldo Ferracci (Advisor, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NY) at Circuit of the Americas last year and all the management including Claudio Domenicali, Gigi Dall’Igna, Paolo Ciabatti and Davide Tardozzi, and they were really happy to have me on board again.”

The 31-year-old Italian will ride a factory-build Ducati Panigale V4 R in the MotoAmerica series on April 8th.

9-Time WRC Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb Announced As Indian Motorcycle Ambassador

If you don’t know who Sebastien Loeb is, you probably live under a rock.

The man is a nine-time World Rally Championship champion and has three Dakar podiums in his career.

The WRC legend will add another achievement as Indian Motorcycle announced Loeb as the company’s new ambassador!

In addition, Loeb will now ride an Indian FTR R Carbon to help promote the American motorcycle brand.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Sébastien Loeb, who is a charismatic and talented personality.

“During our meeting, I discovered a real enthusiast, of cars of course, but also of two-wheelers, especially motorcycles with a character like the FTR.

“I am thrilled with this new partnership which goes against the grain of Sébastien’s traditional universe. Basing this partnership on the Indian FTR is a natural fit; it is a motorcycle with a unique style and performance, everything that Sébastien was looking for in his future motorcycle,” said Pierre Audoin, Indian Motorcycle National Manager, France.

Meanwhile, Loeb also expressed his excitement over the new development with Indian and is looking forward to taking the FTR Carbon R on numerous adventures.

“I am pleased to collaborate with Indian, I am seen more often behind the wheel than the handlebars, but I have always ridden to experience different sensations.

“I love riding whenever I get the chance, whether on the track or on the road, and the FTR has all the qualities necessary to have fun at any pace,” he said.

Despite spending most of his life behind four-wheelers, a love for motorcycles is often there and is often the case with drivers racing at the top level. The 47-year-old himself spent a lot of his time at moto-racing, including enduro, during his earlier days.

SemiConductor Shortage Reported To Continue Well Into 2022

If you don’t already know, the world is facing a semiconductor shortage due to Covid 19.

Semiconductors are necessary for modern electronics to function, such as gaming consoles and even electronics in cars and motorcycles.

As Covid-19 began to spread around the world, early signs of fluctuating demand led to stockpiling and advance ordering of chips by some tech firms such as Bosch.

The automotive industry is among those feeling the shortage most acutely. At the start of the pandemic, manufacturers scaled back their production plans as demand for cars fell away.

Consequently, suppliers have struggled to meet consumer demand at times, although manufacturers have been able to catch up once again in recent months.

This has resulted in a supply chain disruption across countless industries, and a recent US Department of Commerce study shows that the global chip stocks will plunge under soaring demand in 2022.

According to trade body the Semiconductor Industry Association, sales of chips actually fell 12% in 2019 but were already growing (up 6.5%) in 2020 before rocketing by 30% between August 2020 and August 2021.

The value of semiconductors has historically been quite volatile, meaning makers don’t want to over-invest in multi-billion-dollar factories for fear demand will disappear and profits could collapse at any moment.

That means the industry is now playing catch-up to meet sustained demand for chips in everything from smartphones to cars with advanced driver assistance technology and cloud-connected infotainment systems.

That, combined with the fact that the automotive manufacturing industry is a relatively small part of the chip maker’s business, means they are now at the back of the queue when it comes to securing vital electronic components.

As for riders, modern-day motorcycle prices might be higher until the supply-chain cycle returns to its pre-pandemic efficiency.

BMW Recalls 2019-2020 K1600 Models Due To Potential Suspension Failure

BMW North America (BMW) is recalling all 2019 and 2020 BMW K1600 GT, K1600GTL, and K1600B motorcycles.

According to its recall notice, BMW says that a supplier’s link strut that connects the rear suspension to the frame may not have followed specification, as a result of a heat treatment “anomaly”.

In essence, it may not have sufficient strength over time and could result in the motorcycle’s rear end to collapse and contact the rear wheel.

Besides, this will also affect the riding stability and control.

The affected models totals around 1625 units, though it is unlikely a problem to be replicated.

As mitigation, the Bavarian brand had apparently switched suppliers from whoever produced these particular problematic parts to avoid any circumstances in the future.

Registered owners of the affected motorcycles should take them to an authorised BMW dealer as they will replace the rear link strut free of charge.

BMW’s breakdown of bikes affected in North America is as follows:

2019-2020 BMW K 1600 GT: approximately 351 units produced between September 21, 2018 and December 28, 2019
2019-2020 BMW K 1600 GTL: approximately 352 units produced between December 4, 2018 and January 27, 2020
2019-2020 BMW K 1600 B: approximately 922 units produced between September 21, 2018 and February 18, 2020

There is no indication if models designated for Malaysia may be affected, but do contact your dealer if there is any concern.

Quad Lock Introduces New Aluminium Handlebar And Fork Stem Mount

Quad Lock® by Annex Products is developed, owned and operated by Australian Startup Annex Products, which is based in Melbourne.

They are the experts who patented a practical dual-stage locking mechanism that securely locks your phone to a mount and makes it perfect for a long ride while navigating via smartphone.

As part of product development, the company continuously follows the pace of new smartphone models.

This is to ensure its products are aligned with the different levels of protection and vibration dampening required.

But brands like Apple have also discouraged users from mounting their phones to motorcycles due to potential camera damage.

In response to that, the company developed vibration dampening materials to mitigate the issue.

Now, the company has introduced a new Handlebar Mount Pro and Fork Stem Pro model.

Quad Lock developed its latest mounts from a durable nylon-polycarbonate composite, but this is further enhanced with black anodized CNC machined aluminum.

The brand’s signature blue lever are also mostly seen on regular Quad Lock’s, but the Pro models opt for a matching black tab and hardware.

The Handlebar Mount Pro comes with 22mm (0.875-inch), 25mm (1-inch), 28mm (1.125-inch), 32mm (1.25-inch), and 35mm (1.375-inch) bar sizes while the Fork Stem Mount Pro fits in tube sizes 12.4mm-25.4mm.

Both mounts include USB charging cable channels to maintain the cable condition, but each model is also compatible with Quad Lock’s weatherproof wireless charging dock.

The base Handlebar Mount retails for US$49.95 but the Pro model comes in at US$69.95. Similarly, the Fork Stem Mount will cost US$59.95 while the Pro variant is at US$79.95. But there is no indication on local Malaysian pricing.

Customers have the perks to personalize their Pro mounts with multiple USB charging options, lever colors, knuckle adapters and spacers for the most suitable fitment.

Quad Lock also offers a vibration damper for the Pro mounts. They even tested the unit on vibration-heavy models such as the Harley-Davidson Softail, Triumph Bonneville, and BMW R nineT, proving that the Pro mounts are reliable and trustworthy.