Jack Miller Won a GP, So Let’s Remember This Awesome Burn
The Dutch MotoGP at Assen this past Sunday was insanely fantastic. First, it was the first time the GP would be held on Sunday. (It had been held on Saturday since 1965. If you want some background on it, David Emmett wrote an excellent piece.) Then it rained a bunch, got sunny, rained again and had a whole bunch of drama. The Moto3 race literally came down the last corner (check out the times below and note how close the top 12 were); Moto2 was won by Takaaki Nakagami, who become the first Japanese rider to win a Grand Prix since 2010; and finally, MotoGP started under wet conditions, which led to Yonny Hernandez leading, and becoming the first Colombian rider to ever lead a MotoGP race. Valentino Rossi took over the lead after Hernandez crashed and looked to be in complete control. Then, the rain picked up, making the track unrideable and the race was red flagged. A quick 12-lap sprint would decide the race after the restart, and seemingly half the field, including Rossi while leading, crashed out. Marc Marquez took the lead, but was passed by Jack Miller (!!!!!), who went on to claim his first MotoGP victory in only his second season after moving directly from Moto3. It was as unlikely win as there could have been.
Miller was the first rider since Ben Spies in 2011 (at Assen as well) to claim a MotoGP win that didn’t have the last name Marquez, Pedrosa, Rossi, Lorenzo or Stoner. His win was also the first by a non-factory rider since Toni Elias at Estoril in 2006.
Okay, that was a long way to get to the point: Miller has struggled in his two MotoGP campaigns. At his home GP at Phillip Island in Australia last year, Miller was searching for his first top-ten, something pit reporter Neil Hodgson thought may have been a bit "optimistic" prior to qualifying. Miller's response is fantastic:
Ryan Dungey On His Injury
Ryan Dungey will miss the remainder of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross after sustaining a cracked C-6 vertebrae after crashing in the second moto at Thunder Valley. When Dungey missed Round 4 at High Point, it ended a 75-race start streak in 450MX, and a whopping 99-race start streak in the Nationals between two classes, dating back to the start of the 2008 season. Dungey recently spoke with Red Bull—a long-time sponsor of his—about the injury, when he may return and more. I found this part interesting:
Sitting here now thinking about everything and being able to enjoy other parts of my life that I haven't been able to in a while is good, but it also could be good to recharge and come back for one good, last run within the sport. I don't know the future or how many years of racing I've got left right now, but I'm still committed for next year and for me that's important to live up to my word and I want to make the best of it.
You can read the rest of the interview here.
Tony Hawk is a Beast
At X Games San Francisco, legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk became the first to land the 900 ( 2½-revolution aerial spin). That was 17 years ago. Now 48 years old, Hawk can still rip with the best of them. But doing the 900?
Yes, 17 years to the day after landing the trick, Hawk, at 48 (yes, it bears repeating), landed the trick in a video released earlier this week. Hawk says this may be his last attempt ever at the 900. Two days after being released the video was already over 2.5 millions views. That’s legit!
Better Save: Marc Marquez or Mathew Scholtz?
Marquez
Scholtz
A moment for Mathew Scholtz on the @westby_racing Yamaha. #motoamericautah pic.twitter.com/voInivun07
— MotoAmerica (@MotoAmerica1) June 24, 2016
Better save?
Marquez 863 votes - 90.3%
Scholtz 93 votes - 9.7%
Intel Data
Earlier this year, X Games and Intel announced a new deal that would see the technology company providing real time data via their new wearable device called the “Curie.” It debuted at Winter X Games in Aspen and was also featured at X Games Austin.
Intel also used the technology at the Red Bull X-Fighters event in Spain this past weekend. Check out this cool video previewing the technology.
You can read more about it here.
F1 Sidecars is Ridiculous
I don’t think I’m breaking any news when I say you have to have a screw (or two) loose to race sidecars. It’s absolutely maddening, man. Watch the video below from the British F1 Sidecars race and tell me you would attempt this. I will precede to call you a liar and challenge you to a duel.
Winglets Banned
The battle over the use of aerodynamic wings (winglets) in MotoGP has been decided. Over the weekend, the Grand Prix Commission announced that beginning in 2017, the use of winglets in all classes would no longer be allowed. The commission had previously banned the winglets effective immediately in Moto3. After Ducati debuted the winglet technology in Qatar a year ago safety concerns began to arise within the riders and teams. In September, Yamaha unveiled its version. According to Asphalt and Rubber the decision was made after the MSMA (Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers Association) failed to reach an agreement among all manufacturers on a joint proposal. More from Asphalt and Rubber.
Whether the outright ban will end the focus on aerodynamics remains to be seen. The focus is likely to shift to the shape and size of fairings to achieve the same effect.
The rules will need to be carefully written to define what a winglet actually is, and Ducati have already hinted that they will be searching for loopholes in the rules.
“Like in Formula One, we will have to look very carefully at the future rules,” Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi told the Italian site GPOne.com(link is external). “Every single word will be important, because everything which is not forbidden will be allowed.”
Bob Hannah Will Always Be Awesome
Bob Hannah, in my opinion, will forever be the best interviewee in the history of motocross. Never afraid to express his opinion, always straight to the point, and no BS—that’s Bob Hannah. It’s a shame that we don’t have more riders unafraid to say what they really mean. Recently, John Basher at MXA sat down with Hannah to discuss a variety of topics, and in typical Hannah fashion, he doesn’t hold back.
Of all the champions that you’ve met through the years, have any of them impressed you?
I can be impressed with their riding, but very unimpressed with them as people. I was very impressed with Ryan Villopoto’s riding. I thought he was an animal and a machine. He was tough and straight up awesome. Did I want to be around him? No [laughter]. I didn’t want to be around him for five minutes. I’m actually impressed with how some riders are after their careers. Like I said before, these guys are just dirt bike riders. I don’t know a lot of the latest guys racing. I did meet Jeremy Martin and Cooper Webb at a Yamaha function, and I liked listening and talking to them. I did a Yamaha shoot with Jeremy Martin one day, and I really enjoyed the kid. I don’t know if he’s tough enough, but I liked him. He’s pretty dedicated. I would like to go bicycle riding and hang out with him a little bit, just to see if I’m right.
The entire interview is filled with great stuff (of course, it’s Bob “Freaking” Hannah), including the relationship he and David Bailey share.
Walmart Bike
I shouldn’t have to tell you that buying a “mountain bike” at the local Wally World and taking it downhill riding is a bad idea. Cheap doesn’t mean good. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Just in case you’re still holding on to the thought that the Huffy you purchased at Walmart is A) A good bike for actual mountain biking or B) Cheap enough to where it’s worth not spending the money on a good bike (looking at you, Weege), let pro mountain biker Phil Kmetz show you the path. Phil recently purchased a Huffy Carnage at his local shopping center and… well, just watch.
Iceland vs England Draws Nearly 100 Percent Rating
Iceland (which has a population of just 333,000) upset England (which has a population of 53.01 million) earlier this week in the European Championship in the Round of 16. It was arguably one of the greatest upsets in all of sports. Seriously. Of course every one in Iceland was super stoked to watch the big match on the tele. How stoked? According to AS, the match drew a near 100% TV rating. Yes, just about every single TV set in the entire country was watching the match!
99.8% of the country's TV audience tuned in to see goals from Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson cancel out Wayne Rooney's penalty as the Icelanders, competing at their first ever major tournament finals, booked a quarter-final spot to continue their heroic campaign.
That’s incredible. My question: what in the h*** were the other .2% watching? Further, there have also been reports that 27,000, or 8 percent of the population, travelled to France for EURO2016.
How can you not love this story? Plus, they celebrate with a FANTASTIC Viking chant after every game. God, I love sports!
Leno Goes Down Hard
While filming for a recent episode of “Jay Leno’s Garage,” the former host of “The Tonight Show” and stuntman Bob Riggle had a violent crash while driving the famous Hemi-powered Plymouth Barracuda—named "Hemi Under Glass." Luckily both were okay.
[Fast-forward to 3:10 to see the crash.]