Marc Marquez breaks little finger and toe in crash at Assen

from TWOWHEELSBLOG

Marc Marquez’ massive highside at turn 14 during this morning’s third free practice at Assen has left the Repsol Honda rookie with a fractured little finger and one to his big toe.

Marquez was the first rider to set out on slick tires on the drying track about six minutes before the end of the session, and when he headed into the Ramshoek his RC213V pitched him off at about 186 km/h and then landed on him.

The MotoGP rider returned to his box and then went to the Clinica Mobile where he underwent x-rays and was diagnosed with a micro-fracture his right pinky finger and fracture to the big toe of his right foot.

Despite his injuries, Marquez is still expected to take part in this afternoon’s Q2 session.

MOTO GUZZI LE MANS BY 4H10

There are a staggering number of motorcycles in Paris. Sit at any café for half an hour, and you’ll probably see more bikes pass by than anywhere else in the western world: from 1980s roadsters to Piaggio three-wheelers to rumbling Harleys.

As you might expect, there are a lot of drop-dead gorgeous customs. And quite a few ‘oddball’ bikes: machines that don’t fit conventional notions of beauty, but have an arresting style of their own. This is one such machine, ‘Midnight Phoenix’—a Moto Guzzi Le Mans Mark III owned by one of the founders of the French custom site 4h10.com.

John is a long-time fan of the Mandello marque. “Riding an old Italian bike on the streets of Paris has to be done with class—and a big engine, a lot of noise and the smell of gas,” he smiles. The Le Mans fits the bill.

He’s upgraded the engine from 850 to 1000cc, shortened the frame and fitted an original Rickman tank. The fairing is from a Le Mans Mark I and the truncated seat unit is hand-fabricated. Up front, the forks have been shortened a little, and out back, the swingarm from a Moto Guzzi California has been grafted on.

Other mods include a new, simplified wiring harness (“Important on a Italian bike,” John notes, with the voice of experience) and neat details like custom-made aluminum air filters for the carbs. The unusual tank graphics were designed by local fresco artists Alex et Marine, and set the bike apart from the crowd. Intéressant, non?

For more despatches from the cutting edge of the French scene, head over to the 4h10 Facebook page.

Images by Daniel Beres.

via BIKEEXIF

LE MANS OFFICIEL : MARK WEBBER AVEC PORSCHE EN 2014

Porsche continue son marché avant son retour au Mans en 2014 et sa participation au Championnat du Monde d'Endurance.

Après le recrutement du suisse Neel Jani, la firme allemande a annoncé aujourd'hui que l'australien Mark Webber courrait pour la marque allemande l'an prochain au Mans ainsi qu'en WEC. Le nom de Mark Webber avait été évoqué à plusieurs reprises depuis le début de l'année, aussi le recrutement de Webber -9 victoires, 11 poles et 36 podiums en F1-n'est pas vraiment une surprise.

Webber a déjà disputé Le Mans à deux reprises, en 1998 et 1999, avec Mercedes. On se souvient encore de ses envols de 1999 avec la Mercedes CLR. On peut dire que l'australien, même s'il n'a jamais été à l'arrivée des 24 Heures du Mans, a véritablement survolé le circuit...

Mark Webber : « C'est pour moi un honneur de me joindre à Porsche pour son retour dans la plus haute catégorie au Mans et dans le World Endurance Championship et de faire partie de l'équipe. Porsche a écrit l'histoire de la course automobile en tant que constructeur grâce à sa remarquable technologie et à ses performances au plus haut niveau. J'attends beaucoup de ce nouveau challenge après mes années passées en Formule 1. Porsche se fixera sans aucun doute des objectifs très élevés. J'ai hâte de piloter un des prototypes les plus rapides du monde. »

Wolfgang Hatz, Membre du Directoire R&D de Porsche AG : « Je suis très content d'avoir recruté Mark Webber pour notre projet LMP1 alors qu'il est d'un des meilleurs pilotes et un des meilleurs palmarès en Formule 1  actuellement. Mark est sans aucun doute un des meilleurs pilotes mondiaux, il a l'expérience des 24 Heures du Mans et en plus de cela il est un supporter de Porsche depuis de nombreuses années. »

Fritz Ensinger, Patron du Projet LMP1 : « J'ai appris à apprécié les qualités de Mark  quand nous étions tous deux impliqués en Formule 1. C'est l'un des meilleurs pilotes dont je pouvais rêver pour le team. Je suis vraiment ravi que nous ayons avec nous un pilote aussi expérimenté et aussi  constamment rapide. »

Avec ce recrutement, Porsche compté déjà quatre pilotes pour sa LMP1 : Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard, Neel Jani et donc Mark Webber.

Citations tirées du communiqué Porsche,

Claude Foubert  (Endurance-Info)

Joshua’s Indian RD350

When it comes to two strokes, we know that there is a crowd of you out there who just can’t get enough, especially of the infamous RD350. As well as being stupidly quick and light, with a powerband you needed to respect, they also filled the countryside with a ring-a-ding-ding that you could hear across the hedgerows, and even if you missed one zip buy you could see and smell the trail of blue smoke left behind. I can almost smell it now.

This backyard RD was built by from Joshua in India, which is special enough in itself, but it’s no token world-build, this is a very beautifully put together machine, which we had to share.

I grew up spending summer holidays in a car workshop and while most of my peers were getting bicycles for their birthdays I was getting tools or a tool chest to take mine apart – and that’s really where the story began. I always had to find out how stuff worked – usually by taking it all apart, and sometimes not being able to put it back together. I was also the the side-kick every time my dad took apart his Royal Enfield for a paint and engine overhaul. My fascination for anything that moved grew and from stealing midnight rides on my dad’s bike to finally working as a motorcycle tester for an automotive magazine in India, my two wheels just kept turning.

I moved to the US to learn to be a pilot a few years ago but when I got back armed with my license I landed smack bang in unemployment central. I had to find something to do so I started off  building my own motorcycle; this Yamaha RD350.

In India the fascination seems to be with having stickers and fairings. Sometimes a new model is launched with a new sticker-job as ‘all-new’.  Other times it’s plastics. A little 100cc commuter can sometimes end up looking bigger than a Hayabusa. I decided all this clutter needs to go. We need to understand what it is that makes a motorcycle truly enjoyable, fun to ride, simple, elegant and look the part it’s supposed to play.

I decided it was  time to bring about a change in the motorcycle scene back home. Over here there are a lot of choppers that look the part but they’re unrideable, either coz the suspension is screwed up or the 350cc engine isn’t powerful enough to lug the added weight of that 300mm tyre down the road. I didn’t care if my builds looked half as descent as the chrome chops around, as long as the rider could swing a leg over and feel at one with the machine, and then just go out and ride the damn thing, leaving all their worries behind.

Well, Joshua, the bike looks great with it’s classic red frame, gold wheels and white bodywork. A machine stripped back to basics with only what is required for speed, including a steering damper, just in case. This tidy little RD wouldn’t have looked out of place at Wheels & Waves in Biarritz, the One Show in Austin, Texas, or even the streets of London at the Bike Shed event. Thanks for sharing.

 from the Bike Shed