Valentino Rossi ranks 51st in Forbes World's Highest Paid Athletes

via Twowheelsblog

Valentino Rossi may have taken a pay cut to ride for Yamaha for two years and his earnings have dropped from last year, but the former World Champion is still one the best paid athletes in the world, and as usual the only motorcycle racer present in Forbes’ list of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes.

Among golf superstars like Tiger Woods, who is the top earner and first on the list with a whopping $78.1 million, and tennis, basketball, and various baseball stars, motorsports stars rank slightly lower, like F1 driver Fernando Alonso who is ranked 19th, Lewis Hamilton who is 26th or NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who is 32nd and Jimmie Johnson who is 41st.

Rossi now ranks 51st, while in 2012 he was 20th (with $30 million) his earnings are currently estimated at $22 million - $12 million in salaries and bonuses, while endorsements bring in $10 million into the personal coffers of the MotoGP star.

Bugatti Veyrons invade the Paul Ricard Circuit

 

The ultimate track day?

 

Bugatti has released photos from an exclusive track day event at the Paul Ricard Circuit.
Described as a unique experience for the company's "dearest friends," the track day allowed participants to drive the Grand Sport Vitesse under the watchful eye of Bugatti test driver Pierre-Henri Raphanel. Featuring a quad-turbocharged W16 engine that develops 1,200 HP (883 kW) and 1,500 Nm (1,106 lb-ft) of torque, the Grand Sport Vitesse rockets from 0-100 km/h in 2.6 seconds and has a top speed of 410 km/h (255 mph).
 
Bugatti also brought along three Grand Sports which have a slightly more modest output of 1001 HP (736 kW) and 1250 Nm (922 lb-ft) of torque.
 

Source: Bugatti

Kawasaki GT550 - Auto Fabrica

Less is more. It's a phrase that's tossed around with more reckless abandon than an SUV being driven by a texting teenager. Most builders think that stripping the indicators and mirrors off of their latest project bike gives them a ‘clean and minimal’ look. But we're here to tell you that as far as minimal goes, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Want to see the other 90% beneath the surface? Look no further than the inaugural build from London's Auto Fabrica - their ‘Type One’.

Here's Bujar - one half of Auto Fabrica's dynamic duo. “We started in January 2013. The company consists of myself and my brother Gaz. Both are professional designers; Gaz is involved in Product Design and I have graduated last year from Automotive Design. Our builds go through a lot of design process and changes and get developed  throughout. We manufacture our own parts in house and all of our work is done in 2mm aluminum and hand beaten and formed in house by us. We also offer aqua blasting service in house and almost all of our parts are taking through this process to give that unpainted, original OEM finish.”

“It started life as a ugly duckling Kawasaki GT550. The reason we chose this bike is because we haven't seen a GT550 get any decent treatment in the past and the fact that it's a shaft driven 4 cylinder I thought was pretty cool - it had that concept bike feel. We stripped the bike completely, trimmed and cut the frame, cut tank mounting points below the top tubes so we could get the seat right up close to the tank.”

“The tank was modified to get a flush and smooth finish and also to raise it 25mm from the rear to get a much better stance. We used Hagon rear shocks which were 30mm above standard, we also dropped the forks an inch which gave us the desired stance, matching the original sketches and renders.”

The seat was made in house. The intention was to keep it as clean as possible and also have a solid unit - you can actually lift the bike from the rear seat. The rear light is integrated in the back to give it that cool 80's look. The foam and leather unit is a 3 piece which bolts onto the seat and can be removed easily. Again this was to get a very high quality look and feel to the bike.”

“A Land Rover colour and trim designer helped
with the paint selection and the leather used”

“The speedo is a refurbed Honda unit. I redesigned the face and also exposed the brass needle which picks up on a few other subtle brass touches on the bike. A Land Rover colour and trim designer helped with the paint selection and the leather used.

In terms of the overall look and feel of the bike we are very happy - considering this is our first build we learned a lot. As a general approach to customizing bikes, I think we focus a lot on subtle details that only become apparent once you spend a bit more time around them.”

from PIPEBURN

The ‘Lost’ Marilyn Monroe, in Pictures

A new book of photographs by John Vachon shows screen goddess Marilyn Monroe relaxed and enjoying the Canadian outdoors. The shots have only recently been discovered, being part of a 1,000+ portfolio of images taken in 1953 for the US magazine LOOK.

LOOK only selected three, and it was believed that the rest were lost forever. The troubled American star was in the Canadian Rockies filming ‘River of No Return’, and the idea was that she should spend some time with the Minnesota-born photographer, developing a relaxed personal relationship that genuinely showed her as ‘the girl next door’.


The 128-page book, published by Dover Publications, shows 100 of these b/w images, all carefully re-touched and re-toned.

Related Links Dover Publications' website: www.doverpublications.com

Text: J. Philip Rathgen (Classic Driver)
Photos: The estate of John Vachon / Dover Publications