Author

Noel Ebdon

Browsing

Ninth place finish for 2022 Dakar Champion as Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge starts to take itstoll on the field Day two proved tough for Sam Sunderland as he continued his assault on the 2022 AbuDhabi Desert Challenge, with him finishing the day in ninth, after the long and tough stagetwo. The stage was eventually won by Hero’s Ross Branch, with Husqvarna’s LucianoBenavides and KTM’s Kevin Benavides just behind. The finish left him in fourth overall in the rankings, but with a strong start position for stagethree, where he plans to make up the time lost and attack the remainder of the race.“Day two is in the books. It was a bit of a scary one early on as I saw Mike Docherty had hada crash. I stopped to see if they needed help, but thankfully they were ok,” said Sunderland.“After that I tried to chase down Matthias (Walkner) ahead, but…

Enea Bastianini took an emotional first premier class win under the flood lights of Qatar, aheadof Brad Binder and Pol Espargaro. There was history on the table in the first Grand Prix of the season, as Enea Bastianini of Gresini Racing stepped up to the plate. The ‘Beast’ delivered a masterclass in the Grand Prix of Qatar to claim an emotional victory under the lights, which he dedicated to the late Fausto Gresini. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder produced a terrific ride to seal P2 and KTM’s best atthe track by some margin, the South African ultimately just 0.3s away from the win. Pol Espargaro, on board the Repsol Honda took third, after leading the way for much of the race. As the lights went out and the curtain went up on the season, polesitter Jorge Martin (PramacRacing) got an uncharacteristically poor start, and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)…

All three of UAE-based Vendetta Racing Team finish day one of the Abu Dhabi DesertChallenge The Milwaukee Tools sponsored Vendetta Racing Team of Tom Childs, William McBride andOran Kelly did well on the first day in the desert, finding their feet, but all making it safelyback to the bivouac. The riders missed a couple of waypoints and picked up some speedingpenalties, but nothing too taxing for day one. With tomorrow seeing the first of the Marathon stages, the riders will have to be easy onthe bikes and tyres, as no outside assistance will be allowed until the end of day three. Team Vendetta Results: Team Vendetta Results:130 – Tom Childs FB- tom.childs.750132 – William McBride @william_mcbride_ni132 – Oran Kelly @oran.okelly Bike Middle East will be following the team throughout the rally. Follow us for updates on Facebook

2022 Dakar Champion carries winning momentum into round two of world championship with strong performance on opening day UAE-based Dakar Champion Sam Sunderland got his 2022 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge off toa strong start, going fastest on the opening stage, taking the sandy tracks and rolling dunesin his stride. “We’re back to it – not that long after Dakar. It’s always cool to come here to Abu Dhabi,the race is always good, and I like to ride in the dunes,” said Sunderland. “The plan after yesterday’s prologue was to push on today’s stage, which I managed to do. I didn’t gainback quite as much time as I would have liked, and I’m leading out tomorrow, so hopefully Ican do a good job with the navigation. The bike is working great and I’m looking forward tostage two.” After yesterday’s short 2km prologue sorted the start order for the opening stage, SamSunderland…

Justin Barcia and Pierce Brown both pick up podiums for the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas Factory racing team at the Triple Crown format Arlington Supercross. Team riders Justin Barcia and Pierce Brown took on the second ‘Triple Crown’ event of theAMA Supercross season and despite having mixed overall results, both riders delivered amain event podium in their respective classes. For Barcia, it was a strong start to the three-race format as he enjoyed a second-placepodium result in the first 450SX race, while teammate Brown brought it home as runner-upin the final 250SX Eastern race of the night in Arlington, Texas.With three Main Events in each class, the Triple Crown format gives race fans a hugeamount of racing to absorb. In 450SX, Barcia grabbed a top-five start for the first gate dropof the night and he battled inside the top-three early on. With two of the front-runnersgoing down ahead of him,…

Ducati Multistrada gets new colours, electronic updates and new accessories from March 2022 With almost 10,000 motorcycles delivered worldwide, the Multistrada V4 ended 2021 as thecompany’s best-selling and most popular family in the range. So, for 2022, the bike gets a bunch of new updates and features for new buyers. The colour range of the S version will expand, with the addition of the new Iceberg White livery. The new colour joins the Ducati Red and Aviator Grey colour options. The bike can be ordered in four different trims (Essential, Radar, Travel & Radar and Full), which potential buyers can view in the dedicated section of the Ducati website. For the electronics, the main update lies in a new semi-automatic function of the electronicsuspension for the Multistrada V4 S, called Minimum Preload. This feature allows riders toreduce the height of the motorcycle, making it easier and safer to place their feet on theground…

Team HRC gives the world a first glimpse of the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade that will be raced in the 2022 season. Via a virtual launch, Team HRC beat everyone else to the punch by being the first to unveil its bike for the upcoming 2022 season. Honda unveiled a striking red, white and blue colour scheme with a nod to the past: 30 years on from the launch of the original Fireblade, which changed sports bikes design and became an icon across the world. The stunning CBR1000RR-R will be ridden by two Spanish rookies, Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge throughout the season and is sure to give Honda fans a bit of nostalgia, wrapped around a stunning new WSBK Challenger.

Indian Motorcycle and Krazy Horse have opened the UK’s first dedicated Indian Motorcycle Brand Experience Centre on Kensington High Street in West London. The site of the new Indian experience centre was, for over 50 years, the home of the Bristol Car Company. The corner showroom, which is part of the Hilton Olympia Hotel, has been fully refurbished over two floors, allowing a complete range of Indian motorcycles, accessories, clothing and heritage to be displayed. In addition to the latest Indian Motorcycle models on show, there will be demonstration motorcycles available and exclusive one-off bikes on display from the ‘Krazy Horse Custom’ collection. Customers will be able to build their dream Indian Motorcycle in the configuration area and browse the latest Indian Motorcycle apparel and accessory lines. The centre opened its doors to the public on February 7th, so if you are into your Indian motorcycles and find yourself in…

Is a custom bike still a custom bike if it comes direct from the factory as a custom bike? Ponder that one for a while as you feast your eyes upon the four latest offerings from the design team in Milwaukee, which were launched with the spectacular Croatian coastline as a backdrop. Based on the super-popular Sportster 1200, the Iron 1200 and the Forty-Eight Special, both mark an acknowledgement from the Harley factory of both people’s desire for a custom style bike and also of the Seventies, the decade the world forgot. Although the architecture is clear, the design team have added from cool retro touches to both bikes to allow them to reach out to a new segment of rider. Those that grew up in the roller skates, tight tee-shirts and afro hair era. Not to be outdone, Harley has also given its venerable Street and Road Glide models…