Racing in the world struggling because of COVID-19 pandemic (Part 1)

COVID-19 is heavily affecting all major sporting events in 2020, and racing is no exception. The world’s leading racing competitions in both 2-wheel and 4-wheel drive are in an emergency situation, forcing to constantly leave schedules and cancel races.

Up to the present time, MotoGP is the tournament making the fastest decisions about the status of its upcoming races. Specifically, after leaving the Thai GP schedule to early October, the FIM federation and the owner of the Dorna Sports tournament decided to leave two more races in April, the US and Argentina to mid-November next, before the evolutions. complex of COVID-19.

MotoGP will have to wait at least until May to start the fight

Italy has declared a “national closure”, meaning that the country will be unable to make it to the venue or if it can, if possible, as well. will immediately be isolated for at least 14 days upon arrival in that country.

Since then, the tournament is trying to find the most reasonable solution to “salvage” the season. They are trying to find a venue to replace the Qatar GP where the highest mode MotoGP cannot take place.

In addition, they do not exclude the ability to organize races without spectators watching the track and can extend the season to December if necessary. With that, the format of racing 2 races in the same weekend like what WorldSBK or other young leagues are doing.

Under a contract agreement between the FIM and MotoGP federation, the tournament must hold a minimum of 13 races in a season and they are still fully confident that they will do it this year.

The WSBK also faces turmoil on the 2020 schedule

So according to the scheduled race at this time, the riders, the team will have a busy schedule in the last two months of this year if things do not have new developments. In particular, the last 8 races from the 12th to the 19th stage will start at Aragon on September 27 to the season-ending stage in Valencia at the last week of November, exactly as the ‘sprint stage’ of the year.

After MotoGP, the lower level tournament of World SBK has also made adjustments to suit the upcoming events. The WSBK completed the first leg on Phillip Island, Australia in early March but canceled the second leg at Losail, Qatar on this weekend following the domino effect from MotoGP.

The third leg, scheduled for the weekend of March 27-29 in Jerez, Spain, was officially postponed and pushed down to become the curtain-cutting stage on October 23-25.

10 most powerful racing superbikes in the world (Part 3)

Aprilia also offers Race Pack racing packages with lightweight aluminum rims, Ohlins suspension. In addition, the Italian automaker also offers the RSV4 RF with a limited number of 500 units.

7. MV Agusta F4 RR (201 hp)

MV Agusta F4 RR is a commercial version of the World Superbike Championship race car with a capacity of 212 horsepower. MV Agusta has been acquired by Mercedes-Benz with a 25% stake, so the AMG logo appears on the body of this superbike.

Overall, the car is 2,115 mm long, 750 mm wide and 830 mm high, the ground clearance reaches 115 mm. Dry weight of 190 kg, fuel tank capacity of 17 liters.

MV Agusta F4 RR has many modern features such as the Ride-By-Wire electronic throttle control system to help the engine operate more efficiently. Ohlins shock absorbers adjust power, systems such as the system that supports quickshifts.

4 control modes for setting the normal conditions (Normal), operating in the rain (Rain), sports (Sport) and an operating mode that the driver sets the parameters by himself.

8. Kawasaki ZZR1400 (200 horsepower)

Kawasaki ZZR1400 was developed based on the frame structure of the most powerful superbike in the world today. ZZR1400 carries the power of a 1,441 cc four-cylinder engine, producing 200 hp at 10,000 rpm and 162.5 Nm of peak torque at 7,500 rpm. Vehicle speed is limited to 300 km / h.

Noteworthy equipment on the special edition Kawasaki ZZR1400 includes a 6-speed gearbox, sliding clutch, fuel-saving operating mode, longer and stronger rear grips to bear the aluminum frame.

9. Kawasaki ZX-10R (200 horsepower)

Kawasaki ZX-10R is a superbike in the 1,000 cc segment, rival of Yamaha R1 and Honda CBR 1000RR. The four-cylinder 197 horsepower capacity, 998 cc capacity, the inside has many notable improvements.

ZX-10R features an electronic control system to adjust traction, cornering management and engine braking, ABS. In addition, the rear grips have been modified to help the car balance well and redistribute weight, making it easier for cornering.

10. Yamaha YZF-R1 (182 horsepower)

Yamaha R1 is the leading superbike in the sports car series manufactured by Yamaha. This is a street bike popular with many bikers in the world. 

Yamaha R1 is equipped with technologies inherited from the MotoGP racing team on the M1 superbike model. These include YCC-I intelligent fuel feeding system, throttle control system with YCC-T electronic chip and intelligent TCS traction control system with 6 different modes.

10 most powerful racing superbikes in the world (Part 2)

4. Kawasaki Ninja H2 (205 hp)

The Ninja H2 is the first commercial vehicle in the world and is also the only one to date equipped with a supercharged forced air intake engine.

The capacity of the car is only 205 horsepower, not too prominent in the 1,000-cubic-meter supersport segment today, but Ninja H2 still attracts attention thanks to the highest torque in the segment.

Ninja H2 is equipped with 6-speed gearbox with hydraulic clutch of Brembo. In addition, the Ninja H2 also features Quick Shift for quick gear changes.

Ninja H2 has a tough and strong design. The front headlights use LED bulbs, two large air cavities on the two sides, but only the left wind cavity is responsible for the intake of supercharger. Turn signal light integrated on the rearview mirror of the vehicle.

Engine: supercharged 998 cc, 4 cylinders in line

Capacity: 205 hp (215 hp with ram air set)

Reference price in the European market: 28,000 USD

5. Ducati 1299 Panigale R (205 hp)

Compared to the 1199 juniors, the 1299 Panigale R has a larger head for improved aerodynamics. At the same time, Ducati also arranged a sophisticated range of LED daytime running lights that both enhance the aesthetics and enhance the lighting of the vehicle.

In addition, 1299 Panigale R also allows users to customize the driving mode in the “bespoke” style (personalized) to best suit the control of each person.

1299 Panigale R deserves to be one of the highest bikes of Ducati when it is integrated with many advanced technologies such as Ducati Traction Control (traction control system), Ducati Wheelie Control (technology to limit the loading phases. unwanted head when accelerator is too fast), ABS anti-lock braking system on both wheels.

Engine: Superquadro L-Twin, 1198 cc

Capacity: 205 horsepower

Reference price in European market: 35,000 USD

6. Aprilia RSV4 RR (201 hp)

The 1,000cc superbike segment witnessed the competition of many famous names, from BMW S1000RR, Yamaha R1, Ducati 1299 Panigale, Kawasaki Ninja H2 and indispensable a name from Italy – Aprilia RSV4 RR.

Aprilia RSV4 RR owns a list of electronic assist technologies including second-generation APRC (Aprilia Performance Ride Control) operation control. Traction Control Traction Control, control wheelie control, Launch Control and Quick Shift gearshift. All combined with Ride by Wire throttle control and multiple running modes.

NASCAR racing – American specialty

Although NASCAR is inferior to these tournaments in both brand and reputation. There is one thing that this racing tournament does better than any other sport in the world. It helps fans see the race in the most authentic way.

NASCAR will launch a new digital dashboard on the cars. These panels are tablets attached directly to the vehicle and allow riders to track a wide range of activities. This new technology will be a great thing for riders because it gives them more important information about the car so that they can master the steering wheel better.

Kết quả hình ảnh cho NASCAR

Not only insiders. But also fans will benefit from this improvement. Because they will have the opportunity to see information similar to what riders see in the car.

This is the clearest example of NASCAR’s closeness to its fans. Viewers feel that they are also an important part of the subject and of course the new technology will help the race to gain points. NASCAR will also allow public broadcast of radio dialogue from the teams throughout the race and fans will love this.

Kết quả hình ảnh cho NASCAR

Imagine if Jeff Gordon was your favorite driver. For example, you could hear everything he said in the car all the way. NASCAR always mounts the camera inside the car so not only the voice but the image.

In addition, NASCAR helps fans get very close to their riders at an unprecedented level. On any race, a fan can climb into a pit lane or parking area for hours or even days.

NASCAR viewers have the right to appear at such places in the grading stage, test races and even the official race. NASCAR allows fans to enter the pit with riders and their cars in pre-race events. Then, once the race begins, some of them can stay right in the parking area

13-way journey through 10 countries of the 30th WSBK motorbike racing (Part 1)

Besides MotoGP, another 2-wheel drive racing tournament has also received a lot of attention, that is the World Superbike will also have major changes in 2020.

By the end of November, the tournament organizers have confirmed the official schedule for the 2020 season, with 13 races, no increase (decrease) compared to 2019 but there are some changes in destinations. Taking place in 10 countries on 4 different continents, the 2020 season will once again start in Australia at the beginning of March.

The Philips Island racetrack will mark the 30th time in history of organizing a WSBK race, no race in the world has achieved this milestone yet. In addition, there will also be an official test before the final season on February 24-25, 2020.

Philips Island will be the start of the WSBK 2020 season

Two weeks later, the teams will come to the race in Qatar, where all new riders will ‘visit’ at the end of October, with the last race of 2019. Losail racecourse will have 2 consecutive weeks. continue to be busy when organizing 2 tournaments MotoGP and World SBK. The change of Thai GP stage in MotoGP race when moving to March forced this race to break up with WSBK this year.

In addition, the only race in North America at Laguna Seca racetrack, California, USA will not appear next year.

The usual European season starts at Jerez in late March, then returns to Spain twice in Aragon in late May and the first time WSBK goes to the Barcelona-Catalunya racetrack in mid-September. Italy will remain the country with more than one race, with two races at Imola and Misano in about 35 days.

July and August is a break time for riders to take only 2 stages in the first week of the month. The WSBK will return to Germany, but with a new Oschersleben race, the fourth fixed race track in Germany, after Nürburgring, Hockenheimring and Sachsenring.

Oschersleben racetrack (Germany) is the new destination of German GP

September is a sprint stage with 3 races at Algarve (Portugal), Barcelona (Spain) and Magny-Cours (France) in less than 25 days. The season-ending race will take place in South America, with the Argentine GP race at the San Juan Villicum racetrack on October 11, 2020. In addition, the middle of the season will have an official test but the time and place have not been announced.

Is it true that the more spikes, the more traction?

The average lifespan of racing tires is only about 120 km, equivalent to a match. In racing, the type of tire used depends on the weather as well as the way the driver rides.

Many people when choosing motorcycle tires often choose the type of tire with many spikes to increase the ability to grip the road. However, if you have ever looked through the motorbike races, it can be seen that the drivers use non-spiked tires to compete. Why is this contradiction, spiky or prickly tire will have better grip?

First let’s find out the use of the grooves on common tires. In fact, the trenches absolutely do not help grip the road when driving in dry weather, but it also reduces the contact surface between the tires and the road.

Tread grooves only work when driving in the rain and slippery roads, helping to increase traction by turning water from the point of contact between tires and the road. In addition, all terrain vehicles will use special tires with very deep grooves to help increase the ability to grip the road when driving on rough terrain such as gravel, sand, etc.

Returning to the tires mounted on racing cars, the absence of tread grooves will help optimize the best possible grip on dry pavement. This allows the driver to run to his full potential without being too concerned about the grip of the tire.

In MotoGP racing, slick tire used in dry weather condition has up to 3 different options including hard (hard), medium (medium) and soft (soft) tires. Soft tires will help increase grip, but quickly reduce quality and vice versa, so riders need to carefully choose the type of tire to use for competition.

However, when competing in the rain, the riders were forced to switch to the wet tire, which has additional grooves to help turn the water. If you use this type of tire to compete when the road surface is dry, the tire quality will decrease very quickly.

Thus, in dry road conditions, the tire without spikes will grip the road better than the tire with spikes. In wet, sandy, or muddy conditions, the tread tire will be effective then make the car easier to control. The traction of the tire depends on other factors such as the soft-stiffness or the quality of the material that make up the tire. The more tread the tire, the more friction it wears and the faster it wears out.