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Honda Australia announced today that they are withdrawing from direct involvement in the Australian Superbike Championships in the premier classes.

Although the manufacturer stated last year that they would continue to participate in road racing, the unpredictable economic climate has forced a review of the extent of their involvement.

We have a long history of supporting racing at the elite level, so making a decision to reduce our involvement was far from easy, said Honda’s General Manager, Motorcycles, Tony Hinton.

“The key elements of our business are the sales of our motorcycles through servicing our dealer network and providing product at the most competitive price for consumers.”

“We will therefore be focusing 100% on these areas in the coming months.”

Motologic’s Paul Free announced that he will continue the championship winning team aboard Honda’s through new and existing sponsorship arrangements.

The Motologic team were hugely successful in winning the 2008 Australian Superbike Championship with Glenn Allerton on board the all new CBR1000RR.

“Motologic are extremely focused on back to back wins. We can deliver more to our new and existing sponsors given the reduction in Honda’s involvement and it provides us a great opportunity to continue to build our reputation as the pre-eminent specialist in race bike preparation and custom modifications to street bikes.”

“Our experience and success in preparing Honda motorcycles over the past seasons has made Honda a logical choice for 2009.” said Paul Free, Director of Motologic.

Hinton said, “We are thrilled that Motologic have chosen to compete on our bikes once again, and to defend the Superbike title they won on Honda’s in 2008.”

Honda will make a further announcement regarding their continued support of junior road racing for 2009 within the next few days.

Source

IMAGINE owning a superbike that punts out a massive 168bhp of raw V-Twin power with 97lb/ft of torque.

Now imagine hitting a corner apex and whacking that throttle open as hard as you can. Now imagine that instead of history’s biggest highside, you’re greeted by a gripping tyre that propels you out of the corner and into the distance, in a way that no other production superbike could ever manage, just like you were some kind of Casey Stoner riding clone.

You’ve just imagined riding the brand new toy from the land of Spaghetti and red dream machines - Ducati’s 1198 S.

It was only two years ago that Ducati brought out three versions of its stunning new superbike, the 1098. The £12,000 base model, the £14,000 higher-spec S, and the £24,000 World Superbike-derived, all-singing all-dancing R version. Of course, there’s also the £40,000 MotoGP-derived Desmosedici RR but that’s an altogether different kettle of fish.

Now Ducati has updated its flagship by giving the 90° V-twin Testastretta Evoluzione engine 100cc more and fitting it into two versions of 1198, the base-model Biposto (that’s two-seater in Italian), and higher-spec S.

The engine’s increased bore and stroke brings capacity up to the 1,200cc limit for V-twins in the World Superbike championship, which Troy Bayliss won in 2008 racing the 1098. The 1198’s improved engine also gets new crankcases and bigger valves, all of which increases maximum power by 10bhp all the way across the rev range, and boosts torque.

But the high-tech gadget that lets you use every last drop of that performance is the Ducati Traction Control (DTC) fitted to the 1198 S.

Much has been written about the way 2007 MotoGP champion Casey Stoner rides his Ducati - how he whacks the throttle open from the apex, letting the bike’s electronics control the power and torque output to secure grip. This is exactly what the 1198 S’s DTC does, but on a production machine. This MotoGP-derived technology has the ability to turn a ham fisted throttle jockey into a riding sensation.

DTC was initially fitted to the 1098 R, but ironically this first production version of the technology could only be used on race bikes (which the R is). That older system destroys catalytic converters by dumping fuel into the exhausts when a reduction in torque is required. But the new system cuts off the fuel supply rather than the spark that ignites the fuel, so the catalytic converters aren’t affected. And that’s got to be more environmentally friendly too.

But the 1198 S is not just about corner exits. It’s also about the way it flies down the straights at warp speed with a delicious Ducati drone emanating from the exhausts, the way it turns fluidly into corners, the way it handles like a dream.
Read full article: Ducati dream machine

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The top has come off the Ferrari 430 Scuderia in honor of the brand’s victory in the 2008 Formula 1 Constructor’s World Championship. Ferrari has announced that it will offer only 499 examples of this lightweight high-performance drop-top. The Scuderia Spider 16M will be available in two new color schemes. The standard will be black and grey, but true racers at heart will opt for a tricolor livery available as part of the Carrozzeria Scaglietti Personalisation Programme. In commemoration of Ferrari’s 16th Constructor’s World title the rear grille will sport a special badge. Inside, a plaque reading “limited series” is mounted just above the air vents at the center of the dashboard. Other features specific to the limited edition include a carbon-fiber roll bar and the implementation of a next generation audio system that can be paired with a customized Ferrari 16GB iPod Touch that can be docked right in front of the dash. Having Scuderia in the name implies that this car isn’t all show and no go. It tips the scales at just 2,954 lbs which is 132 lbs lighter than a F430 Spider. Behind the cockpit resides the sweet-sounding 4.3-liter V-8 cranking out 510 horsepower and linked to the quick-shifting six-speed F1-style gearbox. That 5.7 lb/hp ratio is good for a 0-62 time of only 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph.
Read full artcle: Ferrari 430 16M Scuderia Spider Makes Debut at 2008 Bologna Auto Show