John McGuinness secures 16th IoM TT victory

Honda TT Legends' John McGuinness won the 2011 Superbike race at the IoM, while his teammate Keith Amor took fourth place in the race despite an injured shoulder...

The 2011 Isle of Man TT began in spectacular style for the Honda TT Legends team as John McGuinness led the majority of the six-lap Superbike race to secure victory, taking his tally of TT wins to 16. His teammate Keith Amor also put in a heroic performance, riding through the pain of an injured shoulder, finishing in fourth position on his Honda Fireblade.

‘I am speechless. I feel like I am dreaming. It looked like it was going to be a mega-close race to begin with. Bruce was really pushing hard at the beginning there and we lost some time but we had a great pit stop, went back out and got the lead back. I did six good laps, I didn’t make any mistakes and we had two terrific pit stops by a fantastic team. They put a lot of faith in me and I put a lot of faith in them and it paid off. Somebody said to me today if you get that 16th win it will be sweet 16 – and it certainly feels sweet,’ said John McGuinness.

2012 Honda NSF250R vs 1992 Honda NSR250R

Honda's all-new Moto3 bike, the NSF250R, looks pretty hot!

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) recently unveiled its all-new Moto3 machines – the NSF250R – which will be raced from 2012 onwards. As you would already know, the new Moto3 class, with machines powered by single-cylinder four-stroke 250cc engines, will replace 125cc two-strokes next year. The class is expected to be wildly popular and, indeed, aspiring racers will be able to buy the Honda NSF250R from December this year, for a mere 23,600 euros.

The Honda NSF250R Moto3 bike is fitted with a liquid-cooled, four-stroke, fuel-injected, single-cylinder, DOHC, 249cc engine that produces 48 horsepower at 13,000rpm and 28Nm of torque at 10,500rpm. The bike weighs a featherweight 84 kilos (kerb weight) and has a fuel tank capacity of 11 litres. Suspension components include a USD fork at the front and Pro-link monoshock at the rear. An aluminium beam frame and aluminium swingarm complete the racy little package.

2011 Catalan MotoGP: High-res pics from Catalunya

Here are some high-res pics from practise and qualifying, from Catalunya. Tomorrow, we'll also add race pics from the Catalan MotoGP here. Enjoy!

KTM, Kalex to enter Moto3 in 2012

KTM will return to international motorcycle roadracing in 2012, in the Moto3 class

KTM have announced that their program for re-entering MotoGP in the new Moto3 class is on schedule – the company will have a team in Moto3 in 2012, in partnership with the Germany-based Kalex Engineering.

KTM’s Moto3 bike is being developed in-house by the company’s motorsports department in Mattighofen, Austria, and KTM engineer Wolfgang Felber is heading the team that’s working on the new racing bike. KTM will also supply engines to Kalex, whose bike is expected to be slightly different from the one developed by KTM. (Both bikes will be fitted with the same 250cc single-cylinder engine developed by KTM, but the KTM-Kalex bike is likely to have a different chassis and different suspension and braking components.)

Ducati 1198 ridden and signed by Valentino Rossi to be auctioned for charity

Your chance to own a Ducati that's been ridden by a legend...

Ducati UK will auction the 1198 that Valentino Rossi rode recently at the Silverstone circuit, during the official launch of the new Silverstone Wing. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to Riders for Health. The bike will be displayed at the Riders for Health Day of Champions on the 9th of June and will then be auctioned on the 11th of this month.

2011 Aprilia RS4 125, RS4 50 announced

Aprilia RS4 125, the hottest 125 on the planet...

For younger riders who are still a few years away from their first litre-class superbike, Aprilia have unveiled the latest iteration of the hot little RS4 125, which is now also available with a Max Biaggi race-replica paintjob. The bike is fitted with a 125cc single-cylinder four-stroke four-valve DOHC liquid-cooled fuel-injected engine that’s mated to a six-speed gearbox.

The racy, high-tech engine, coupled with the bike’s light, stiff aluminium beam frame, asymmetric aluminium swingarm, 41mm USD front fork, adjustable rear shock and 300mm front brake disc (with radial-mount four-piston callipers) deliver performance that’s worthy of what’s perhaps the world’s best 125cc sportsbike. And for those who aren’t ready to handle 125cc performance just yet, there’s also the Aprilia RS4 50, which is fitted with a liquid-cooled 50cc two-stroke engine.

Yamaha YZR-M1 roams the streets of Barcelona

Jorge Lorenzo and his Yamaha YZR-M1 take to the streets of Barcelona...

Reigning MotoGP world champ, Jorge Lorenzo recently took to the streets of Barcelona, where he briefly rode his Yamaha YZR-M1 racebike. Commuters in downtown Barcelona, near the iconic Sagrada Familia in the heart of the city, came to a standstill as Yamaha executed a ‘pit stop’ for Lorenzo’s machine, with the Mallorcan then riding off on his 230bhp MotoGP bike. Watch the video below to get a glimpse of all the action!