Rossi and Pedrosa in front as second Sepang test concludes / Rossi et Pedrosa finissent ex aequo à Sepang

Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa concluded the second Sepang MotoGP™ test with an identical 1’59.999 lap time, as preparations for the 2014 season continued in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, after testing concluded the Ducati Team confirmed their decision to enter the ‘Open’ class in 2014, meaning that they will use standard electronics software and will benefit from the greater engine allocation permitted in the new regulations.

The overall pace was not as quick at Sepang this week, with Rossi and Pedrosa’s best laps today being 0.466s slower than the best circulation set last time out by World Champion Marc Marquez – who missed this test due to injury.

The Doctor demonstrated his pace once again on Friday as he prepares for a 15^th premier class campaign, setting a quickest time on his 13^th lap, in spite of some struggles with the 2014 tyres being experienced by the Yamaha factory team.

Thursday’s fastest rider Dani Pedrosa was also on the pace, his sharpest time coming on the 47^thof his 50 laps, as temperatures dropped slightly – following a 64°C (147°F) track temperature peak at 4pm.

Pedrosa undertook an impressive 19-lap race simulation in the afternoon with every lap under the 2’02.000s mark, and a best time of 2'00.985 coming on lap 15.

On the other side of the Yamaha garage to Rossi, seventh placed Jorge Lorenzo’s frustrations continued as he was +0.75s slower than at the previous test - where track conditions were better and the riders still had access to a 2013 specification tyre.

The Ducati GP14 is showing signs of real improvement and Andrea Dovizioso ended the test 0.068s off the top pace in third, with a lap time 0.3s better than at Sepang1. With the data gathered by him and his fellow Ducati riders the Italian factory made the decision that they will opt for ‘Open’ class participation this season.

Aleix Espargaro was once again quick, his best time of 2’00.101s leaving him fourth best overall and with a decent race simulation performed for the NGM Mobile Forward Racing team on their ‘Open’ Yamaha.

Stefan Bradl wrapped up early having had a solid week, the LCR Honda rider satisfied with his consistently quick times as he found good rhythm on longer runs and ended up fifth overall (+0.165).

The fastest rider on the first day Alvaro Bautista was 0.5s off the pace on the final day in sixth and is happy with progress made with a new rear shock this week.

In eighth Cal Crutchlow made steady headway over the two Sepang tests and has dropped his gap to the frontrunning pace to less than 0.8s compared with a 1.5s deficit at the end of the previous visit to Malaysia.

The key development for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team this week has been the introduction of the seamless gearbox to their package and their young pair of riders, Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, rounded out the top ten with similar lap times respectively 0.8s and 1s off the pace.

Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone crashed shortly before 1pm but was unhurt and immediately able to continue his work, eventually finishing 11^th, with Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez behind him on the timesheet on an ‘Open’ Ducati in 13^th.

Randy de Puniet carried on with his development work for Suzuki, who aim to return to MotoGP™ in 2015, the Frenchman concluding Friday’s test in 12^th, his best lap time down to 1.431s off the top – compared with 2.953s at the end of Sepang1.

Colin Edwards ran out of fuel twice as he pushed the Forward Yamaha to the limit and concluded 14^th, just ahead of compatriot Nicky Hayden who was 1.925s off the top on the Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R.

The Ducati, Honda and Yamaha factory teams now head to Phillip Island for a tyre safety test from 3^rd-5^th March, though MotoGP™ title holder Marquez will again miss the trip as his recovery from a fibula fracture continues.

Valentino Rossi et Dani Pedrosa ont réalisé des chronos identiques vendredi en Malaisie, où se terminait le deuxième Test Officiel de l’année.

Avec un meilleur temps d’1’59.999, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing) et Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) ont été les deux pilotes les plus rapides de la semaine au Circuit International de Sepang, où les chronos ont été moins bons qu’au début mois puisque l’Italien et l’Espagnol demeuraient à 0.466s du record du circuit signé début février par Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda), absent cette semaine pour cause de blessure.

En difficulté jeudi, Rossi était visiblement plus à l’aise aujourd’hui et a réalisé son meilleur temps dès son treizième tour tandis que Pedrosa a, comme hier, attendu la fin de la journée, lorsque les températures de piste étaient en baisse après un pic à 64°C aux alentours de 16h, et le 47ème de ses 50 tours pour faire tomber le chrono.

Pedrosa avait auparavant réalisé une impressionnante simulation de course de 19 tours en restant constamment sous les 2’02.000 et en allant jusqu’à tourner en 2’00.985 sur le quinzième tour.

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) repartira quant à lui de Sepang frustré par les difficultés rencontrées avec les nouveaux pneus Bridgestone, en septième position et avec 0.75s de retard sur les leaders.

Alors que tout le monde attend de connaître la décision de Ducati au sujet de son inscription en catégorie Factory ou Open pour 2014, Andrea Dovizioso continuait d’imprimer une très bonne cadence sur le tracé malaisien et a fini en troisième position, à seulement 0.068s du temps de référence.

Aleix Espargaró (NGM Mobile Forward Racing) était une fois de plus au rendez-vous et a terminé en quatrième position devant les Honda Factory de Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda) et Álvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini).

Derrière Lorenzo, Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) continuait de progresser et revenait à moins de 0.8s des leaders. Le Britannique devançait son compatriote et ancien coéquipier Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) ainsi que Randy de Puniet. 

Ce dernier poursuivait le développement du prototype Suzuki et conclut la semaine à moins d’une seconde et demie du temps de référence alors qu’il comptait deux secondes de retard les deux jours précédents.

Colin Edwards a été victime de deux pannes sèches en poussant la Forward Yamaha dans ses derniers retranchements et a pris la quatorzième position, devant Nicky Hayden (Drive M7 Aspar), qui termine à 1.925s de Rossi et Pedrosa avec la Honda RCV1000R.

Mike di Meglio (Avintia Racing) a quant à lui fait une bonne cinquantaine de tours et continue de préparer ses débuts en MotoGP™.

Les teams officiels de Ducati, Honda et Yamaha se rendent maintenant à Phillip Island pour un test avec Bridgestone qui aura lieu du 3 au 5 mars et auquel Márquez ne participera pas après avoir décidé de prendre davantage de temps pour récupérer de sa fracture du péroné.

Cliquez ici pour accéder au classement complet du Test de Sepang.

Barbour International |Heritage Originals/Trophy Collections

Kamikaze Street Tracker by TGS Motorcycles

Kamikaze Street Tracker is a beautiful bike built by German customizer “TGS Motorcycles”, using as a donor 2-stroke motorcycle Kawasaki H2 1974 g / in. Motorcycle turned serious, a true beast – nothing more. 750 cc two-stroke engine installed in lightweight chassis. Suspension seems to be not much modernized, while the braking system is much more complicated than the original motorcycle. Overall, we got a great bike that can give odds to many modern motorcycles.

It is also important to note that the Kamikaze Street Tracker is a very non-traditional custom for German specialists who specialize in more choppers and show bikes than high motorcycles.

via BIKEGLAM

BIGFOOT COUNTRY: The Adventures of Woody and the Blue Ox

After building his own truck-bed camper from scratch in Carpinteria, California, Trevor Gordon embarked on a mission to find surf and adventure in the heart of Cascadia's Bigfoot Country.

BIGFOOT COUNTRY: The Adventures of Woody and the Blue Ox from Woody and the Blue Ox on Vimeo.