CAFÉ RACER 76

Hugh's Retro-Bunnies

Do you find Hef’s latest gaggle of giggling girls a little too tacky? Then spend Easter with some of the Bunnies of the 60s, who proved that saucy didn’t have to mean scatterbrained.

When Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner opened the first Playboy club in 1960, the sexy waitresses in their rabbit outfits caused uproar among traditionally minded Americans. But Hefner was unconcerned about the negative attention his venture was receiving – it merely equated to fully-booked tables, every night of the week.

Supposedly, the now-legendary Bunny outfit wasn’t the idea of Hef himself, but rather that of Promotions Manager Victor Lownes, in turn guided by pioneering fashion designer Zelda Wynn Valdes. Hef was responsible for refining the outfit, though, as he explains in his own words: “I looked at it and thought there was something missing. So after the opening [of the Chicago club], I added the cuffs, collar and bow tie. It added class.” Hef was also unsurprisingly responsible for cinching the midriff and pushing up the bust to enhance cleavage; as well as reducing the height of the ears.

Initially intended as a uniform for the club’s waitresses, the Bunny outfit has gone on to be a world-recognised symbol of female sexuality – despite being filled by countless different generations of Playboy’s legendary showgirls. It turns out that Hef's scheme was far from hare-brained, after all…

Text: J. Philip Rathgen(ClassicDriver)

Photos: Getty Images

Dovizioso worried about tire wear - Hayden believes Ducati suited to Qatar track

One of big questions heading into this weekend’s MotoGP’s opening round in Qatar - besides who is going to win and if Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez and even Cal Crutchlow are going to end up in a dog fight for a podium finish - will be if Ducati has actually managed to cut the gap with Honda and Yamaha.

During the last pre-season test at Jerez, three Ducati riders, Andrea Dovizioso, Andrea Iannone and Nicky Hayden saw significant improvements in lap times using modified versions of last year’s Desmosedici - but Jerez is also Ducati’s test track - so it will be interesting to see if the partial solutions they found at the Spanish circuit will work at Losail and if track temperatures will affect the Ducati regarding tire wear which Andrea Dovizioso believes could be an issue since he has not done a race simulation during the pre-season tests.

“Losail is a good track for me, as I’ve always had good races there, and I think that the Ducati’s strengths can work in Qatar. We head to this race determined to do well. We know that our pace isn’t so far from the others’ on new tyres, so we should certainly be able to fight for a good grid position, but we have a significant gap to make up in race configuration. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do a race simulation in the tests, so tyre wear is a question mark for me,” commented Dovizioso.

This will be Nicky Hayden’s fifth season with Ducati and he’s already seen it all and has the patience of Job, as this year will be a ‘building year’ for the team … again.

“I’m very much looking forward to starting another season. Of course I wish we were going into it with more speed and consistency, but I feel like we’ve made progress at every pre-season test. The team has used the dry track time we’ve had very well, and we were able to get more out of the recent Jerez test than I thought we would, considering I’d just had wrist surgery. The Qatar track is smooth, which should suit our bike well, and racing under the lights at the first round is always very unique,” said Hayden.

Last year Hayden finished 6th in the night race and his best lap during the race was in 1.56.881, while his qualifying lap that put him in 5th on the starting grid was 1′55.637.

from twowheelsblog

Dani Pedrosa previews Qatar GP, Marquez nervous ahead of race debut

2013 will be the eighth season that will see Dani Pedrosa in MotoGP and all of them spent as a Repsol Honda rider. The Spaniard who has never won the MotoGP title, is expected to be reigning World champion Jorge Lorenzo’s toughest rival this year.

For a second consecutive year Pedrosa starts the season without an injury (hopefully his neck problems during the Jerez test was just muscle strain), and this year his Honda has none of the chatter issues that hampered the RC213V in the first part of last season, so we expect a healthy Pedrosa - who we believe sandbagged a little - to be fast and furious in the opening round in Qatar.

“After a long testing period I am now really ready to go racing!” said Pedrosa. “The team has worked hard to get us in the best place for the start of the season and I’m pleased with my physical situation. It’s a long weekend in Qatar, with the schedule over four days, and the grip level takes some time to improve with the sand and conditions there.”

Talking about the new qaulification format that will be debuted for the first time at Losail, Pedrosa said, “It will be interesting to see how the new qualifying format works and really looking forward to the race. I’m just excited to get the season started!” he said.

After all the pre-season hype regarding Marc Marquez, the expectation to finally see the MotoGP rookie in race mode on Sunday is building, and many want to see if the 20-year old Spaniard (who turned 20 on February 17th) will also be able to break an array of standing records: like becoming the third rider in history to win in his debut race like Max Biaggi did in 1998 and Jarno Saarinen in 1973. Break Freddy Spencers record for his first victory - Spencers first victory was at 20 years, 6 months and 14 days, first pole at 20 years, 5 months, 3 days, and he won the title when he was 21 years, 8 months and 15 days old.

“We’ve had a good winter testing and now it’s time to go racing,” said Marquez. “Qatar isn’t one of my favourite tracks but I still enjoy it. There are many factors to consider there with the sand from the desert which affects the grip and also the fact it’s a night race. Also, as I saw in Jerez, everything is very different on the MotoGP bike compared to Moto2 so we will need some time. Let’s see when we get there, for sure I will be nervous going into my first MotoGP race but I’m also excited.”