2SB reader Jon Madorsky of Chicago was in Florida for the 2008 Daytona 500 last Saturday and sent these cool photos of police patrolling the track perimeter on white Honda Elites. Thanks, Jon!
Continue reading “The NASCAR Elite”
Category: Racing
“Andretti” scooters
The latest in scooter badge engineering: PSF’s Andretti Scooters.
Yes, that Andretti.Purchase Point Media Corporation, who recently bought Power Sports Factory, (who sells Chinese-made “Yamati” and “Strada” scooters) has licensed auto-racing legend Mario Andretti’s name for a line of scooters. Continue reading ““Andretti” scooters”
Las Vegas 2008
The new Las Vegas High Rollers Rally info has been posted for 2008, including pre-registration and merchandise from Modified. There’s a new twist this year: a series of competitions including racing, bowling, poker karaoke, and the usual scooter judging and gymkhana-type stuff. The club that racks up the most points will take home $1000, which will only offset 1/100th of their travel expenses, but I imagine the gloating will be unbearable. You could call it a “Scooter Olympics,” I suppose, but if you did the tightwad jags at the IOC would come after you like a greek drycleaner. It’s safe to say that the usual dancing, riding, drinking, gambling, and respiratory infections will remain intact alongside the competition.
Vespa ice racing
A Vespa PX out on the ice racing track. Sweet! (Thanks Chad.)
Motogiro d’California
Motogiro d’Italia is a motorcycle touring rally made famous in the 1950s and revived in 2001. The event, showcasing classic Italian machines, is venturing outside Italy for the first, of what I would imagine will be annual, Motogiro America. The oil leaking event will be held in and around Monterey, CA preceding the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix in July 2008. Webbikeworld.com reports that the routes will include a lap around the racetrack at Laguna Seca as well as scenic rides around the picturesque Monterey Bay area. There is a range of entry classes including a “Vespa Class.” Hopefully other vintage Italian scooters will be allowed as it would seem very fitting to have some of the beautiful Lambretta D race machines participating (I’m talking to you, Alex). It sounds like a dream week for any Italian Iron enthusiast.
New U.S. distro for PM Tuning?
As I read yet another PM-Tuning/CMSI-bashing post on Modern Vespa, I was surprised to see performance parts manufacturer PM Tuning’s Paul Melici post a follow-up, implying the end of their relationship with CMSI, or at least a major overhaul of their distribution system:
Since 9/11 it has become commercially un-viable to obtain product liability cover for the USA on all PM Tuning produced parts hence we are unable to supply USA customers direct, sorry.
We appointed CMSI as our outlet for the USA to provide the necessary insurance cover and technical backup for PM tuning related parts, but things have not gone according to plan as I freely admit and for this I apologise most sincerely. Any orders or enquiries sent to PM Tuning UK were routed to CMSI, as i now understand, without joy.
We are currently working towards resolving the situation by considering alternative options. Details will be posted at our official PM Tuning UK web site. In the meantime, all enquiries should be sent to info@pmtuning.co.uk, I will personally make sure you get a reply
Customers may always whine about prices, but quality, performance, and liability cost good money, and there will always be a market for high-quality tuning products. That said, supply, shipping, and pricing should not be a mystery to customers, and it’s good to see PM addressing the lack of communication.
Champion crowned at MASRA season finale
The final round of the 2007 Mid-America Scooter Racing Association was filled with the action and excitement one would expect of the premier scooter racing league in the region. The Iowa International Raceway was once again the venue for 10-inch-wheel-to-10-inch-wheel action. The weather was mild and track conditions declared dry for the race start. With several bikes testing their mettle on the track it came down to Team Brookespeed scooter racing veteran “Crafty Matt” DeVries versus the Canadian upstart, Dayn “Sparks” Longlade. North American bragging rights were at stake and the competitors were up to the challenge. For the first time in nearly a year, Team Brookespeed did not field two machines on the grid so there was no chance of team orders coming into play during the track clash. Continue reading “Champion crowned at MASRA season finale”
80s R/C car decals
Here’s a fantastic reference if you’re looking to paint a Vespa P200 in period-correct racing livery: a few dozen ’80s decal sets for remote control cars. The Martini Lancia scheme from Monte Carlo ’83 would be freaking awesome.
German Scooter-Weekend just one month away
There is still time to call the travel agent, pack your bags and get to Germany for their annual Scooter-Weekend celebration, sponsored by Scooter-Attack. On September 29th the Hockenheimring will host hordes of scooterists from across the world in what has become one of Europe’s premier modern scooter events. The schedule includes drag racing, custom scooter shows and dyno shoot-outs. The event is for scooters and mopeds only. Quads, motorcycles and scooters with motorcycle engines are not allowed! 2strokebuzz.com reporters are still open to any offers of sponsorship to attend the event. In the case of no live coverage from this correspondent, check back in about two months and there should be a nice link to a gallery of photos detailing the weekends festivities.
Click here for computer friendly flier in German.
“Das ist soo doof”
German scooter racer Ronny Mengel on a bad day. (Thanks, Rye)
MotoGP at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
Speaking of MotoGP, rumors surfaced today that MotoGP will race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2008, which is great news for American motorcycle racing fans, and bad news for the racers’ left knee pucks. (here are some photos from 2sb’s trip to Indy Motor Speedway last summer.) (Thanks for the news, Rye)
Rossi Aerox (now in bleu et blanc)
Yamaha, the offical paddock scooter of MotoGP, has introduced a new Valentino Rossi “Fiat” Yamaha Aerox replica, not to be confused with last year’s Valentino Rossi “Camel” Yamaha Aerox replica. Being a Rossi fan is an expensive hobby, we’re sticking with Nicky because his mom is nice.
Vespa Racing in Italy
Some nicely-shot footage of Vintage Vespa racing in Italy. (The Vespas are vintage, not the footage). (Thanks, Phil “Pickupthe” Pace.)
Loopy
48 hours from now, my butt will hurt and I’ll hopefully have some good stories to tell. I was going to write more, but I better get some sleep.
Kymco Backs Experienced Duo With “No Factory Support”
Kymco USA has bumped up their motorsports profile by sponsoring the “No Factory Support” AMA Superbike team. The team will be running CBR1000RR sport bikes with very experienced pilots in the seats. Motorcycle legend Doug Chandler and experienced former MotoGP rider Kurtis Roberts are going to have a shot at taking on the full factory supported AMA superbike teams.  Kymco Super9 scooters will be used by the team in the pits as well as by the crew of a reality show on the SPEED Channel network. (In other related news, Kymco is sponsoring a NASCAR team as well). Hopefully this mainstream injection of scooters into the public arena will reduce the likelihood of Roman Holiday references in craptastic newspaper pieces by at least a small amount. Thanks to the good folks at Road Racing World Magazine for passing along this Kymco PR information.