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Valentino Rossi: Yamaha Crazy Not to Hold on to Fabio Quartararo

Valentino Rossi thinks Yamaha will be crazy if they don’t hold on to Fabio Quartararo.
Quaratararo’s contract with PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team ends at the end of 2020.
Moving up to the factory squad means he will replace either Rossi or Vinalez.

Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi says that Yamaha will be crazy if they do not hold on to MotoGP rookie sensation Fabio Quartararo from 2021 and beyond.

Speaking to autosport.com, Rossi says that Yamaha will “pull out all the stops” to make that happen. He added that it is very important that the factory retains Quartararo for the long term. It would mean a promotion to the full factory team in 2021, at the expense of either Rossi or Maverick Vinalez.

“I expected that he can be very fast, because he was always very fast from when he was young, but nobody expected like this,” said Rossi.

He added that that the Frenchman did something special and everybody would want him to ride for them.

“At 21 (years old) for sure Yamaha will want want Quartararo, if not it’s crazy.”

Quartararo has been the revelation of the 2019 season. His current form flies in the face of one-time critics who thought that it was a foolhardy for the PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team principal Dato’ Razlan Razali to have picked him over “other better riders.”

The French rider had not achieved much success in Moto2, except for a single win in Catalunya last year. His PETRONAS Yamaha SRT teammate Franco Morbidelli was the 2018 Moto2 champion, finishing way ahead in the championship.

However, he seemed to have found something which clicked in the satellite Yamaha and often finishing ahead of the factory riders. To date, he has scored four pole positions, finished on the podium five times and set two fastest laps.

Supercharged Kawasaki Z Model is Called Kawasaki Z H2

Kawasaki reveals the name of the supercharged Z model.
It is called the Kawasaki Z H2.
The teaser video also revealed the bike’s silhouette.

The third teaser video for the Kawasaki supercharged “Z” model has been released, and the name of the bike – Kawasaki Z H2 – along with it.

The release of this model will expand both Kawasaki’s supercharged and Z naked bike lineups at one go.

The supercharged family currently consists of the H2R, H2, H2 SX and H2 SX SE. With the new Z H2, the lineup is complete with a track-only sportbike, sportbike, two sport-tourers with different trims and a supernaked.

Over in the Z-model naked bike family, it currently consists of bikes from 150cc all the way to 1000cc. We wonder what will become of the Z1000. Will Kawasaki develop another normally-aspirated model or will they supplant it with the Z H2?

The video also shows the bike’s silhouette for the first time. It doesn’t appear to be a H2 without bodywork, instead it looks like it evolved from the Z900. Check out the shapes of the headlight nacelle, flyscreen, fuel tank and tail section. Oh, it has higher handlebars, too.

The advent of the Z H2 is much anticipated as it will Japan’s inclusion into the supernaked category, which is so far dominated by European manufacturers namely Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, KTM, Triumph.

Ducati is set to unveil the Streetfighter V4, while KTM has also teased with a new Duke which we think is most likely the new 1290 Super Duke R. Triumph may also introduce a new more powerful and lighter Speed Triple.

It means that Kawasaki needs to show at least 180 bhp on the Z H2. 200 ponies is a possibility.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are living in the glorious age of horsepower wars!

New 2020 KTM 1290 Super Duke R Incoming?

KTM released a teaser video for a new Duke.
We are inclined to believe it is the 2020 KTM 1290 Super Duke R.
Will we see a power increase in the face of upcoming new supernakeds?

Before we continue, we’d like to say, “Here’s another teaser video.” This time it’s from KTM with the hashtag #GetDuked. But certain frames in the teaser got us to believe that it’s going to be the new 2020 KTM 1290 Super Duke R.

Eagle-eyed viewers freezes certain frames in the video and pointed out that there were glimpses of a bike with a single-sided swingarm. That’s the dead giveaway for a 1290 Super Duke R, since a revised 1290 Super Duke GT had been introduced for this year.

The prototype 2020 KTM 1290 Super Duke R was spotted on a number of occasions. If the pictures are anything to go by, the new bike will have a new frame and subframe. The new bike’s frame looks more sparse, rather than taking on the appearance of a ladder. As for the new subframe, it resembles the aluminium one used on the 790 Duke.

We were thinking of either the rumoured 490 Duke or 890 Duke initially. But there’s still no confirmation if KTM is indeed working on these two.

This new bike will be unveiled on 5th November 2019, the opening day of EICMA.

But the most important question is probably whether we’ll see a power increase for the new 1290 Super Duke R. The model has held the title of the most powerful supernaked for many years. However, Ducati is set to introduce the Streetfighter V4 while Kawasaki has teased with a supercharged “Z” model which is a naked H2 in essence.

Let the arms race begin.

Marc Marquez Crashed at 26G – Alpinestars Releases Suit Data

Alpinestars released the data from Marc Marquez’s crash at Buriram.
It recorded a peak of 26.14G.
Marquez would walk away and went on to win the race and championship.

There’ve been countless times in the past two years when riders walked away after suffering massive crashes. Marc Marquez crashed heavily at Buriram over the weekend, and was another saved by his Alpinestars airbag suit.

Marquez said that he had shut the throttle for Turn 7 on his out lap in FP1, causing the cold rear tyre to let go. The force of highside crash threw him high in the air before coming back down hard. He said he couldn’t breathe for five seconds immediately after. The trackside doctor even sent him to the hospital for CT scans to verify that he was indeed okay.

Imágenes de la caída de hoy, nos hemos librado de una buena! ??
Pics of the crash, luckily we could ride again!#ThaiGP
Pics by @ChangCircuit pic.twitter.com/5tVfmCOZcu

— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) October 4, 2019

Alpinestars have released the crash data captured by the sensors in Marquez’s suit, just like after the crash involving Fabio Quartararo and Andrea Dovizioso at Silverstone not too long ago.

It’s immediately apparent that Marquez hit the ground at 26.16G. That’s 26.14 times the force of gravity. We’re not sure how much he weighs, but let’s assume it’s 80 kg. Thus 26.14 x 80 = 2091.2 kg. It means he hit the ground equivalent to weighing 2091.2 kg.

Remember that it’s not how one crashes, instead it’s how one stops in a crash that does the most damage.

Looking at the graph again, the sensors determined that Marquez was flying through the air, marked the spikes a fraction just before airbag deployment. The air bag inflated at 0.585 second before impact to cushion the blow.

Marc Marquez lived to see another day. In fact, he went on to post fastest times in practice and qualifying before winning the race and securing his eighth overall world title.

Kudos to the men and women who designed the technology.

2020 Kawasaki Ninja 650 – Finally, a TFT Screen!

The 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 650 has been revealed.
There’s finally a TFT screen.
Kawasaki also reworked the fairing and styling.

The 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 650 has been revealed. Kawasaki revised its looks and added some new features to make it an even better value for money.

The biggest news is of course the new 4.3-inch TFT screen. But it is not just a pretty screen as it includes features that could be found on bigger (read: more expensive) bikes. There is the auto contrast feature; Bluetooth connectivity for music and phone calls; GPS navigation via connection to a phone app; and thankfully a gear position indicator.

Also new are the LED headlamps. Kawasaki also revised the fairing to match that of the Ninja 400 and Ninja ZX-6R, for a more familial resemblance.

Since the Ninja 650 is considered a beginners bike and would be used for basically everything, the manufacturer revised the passenger’s seat, too.

Last but not least, there are now sportier graphics, no doubt inspired by the World Superbike race team. The manufacturer and team are still flush from winning their fifth consecutive WorldSBK title.

The engine was left alone. The 648cc, DOHC, parallel-twin still produces 67 bhp and 66 Nm of torque. It still has plenty of low-RPM and midrange punch.

We shall see when it will arrive in Malaysia.

Hafizh Syahrin Races in Moto2 Without Salary in 2020

Hafizh Syahrin revealed that he will not have a salary while racing in Moto2 in 2020.
He now needs to look for sponsors to help with flight tickets, lodging and training.
The Angel Nieto Team targets a top five finish for Hafizh.

Just after we published the story about Hafizh Syahrin returning to the Moto2 category with the Angel Nieto Team in 2020, a reader alerted us that the rider will be racing without a salary.

Instead, Hafizh will be paid an incentive every time he achieves a podium result. The team set a top five target for the Malaysian, judging by his previous experience and exploits in the class. He had finished in the top six in the 2016 and 2017 seasons before being tapped for MotoGP.

The rider revealed his desire to keep pushing for the best despite riding without a salary during a press conference yesterday.

“I do not know the cost at the moment. I need to look for sponsors to pay for the flight tickets, lodging and training while overseas.”

Hafizh also thanked Sepang International Circuit CEO, Dato’ Razlan Razali for being the most helpful individual during his struggles at the Red Bull KTM Tech 3 Racing team. He also revealed that there could be a MotoGP slot the following year should he finish in the top five.

Also for the first time, he also told the assembled press about his frustration with KTM and the RC16.

“My machine package was very different to my teammate Miguel Oliveira’s. I did not receive what was promised by the team. I was using an engine from the early season that was not upgraded at all.,” he said.

It was a bitter pill for the rider who lost out the 2018 MotoGP Rookie title by just 4 points to Franco Morbidelli who in turn was the 2017 Moto2 champion.