Tag Archives: Formula 1

Motorcycles

Tale of two Italians

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Awaking this morning, I decided to put together this little rundown of my two liter-class Italians. For a pair of bikes with remarkably similar style, their characters are vastly different.

Here is the 411:


2008 Ducati 1098 Superbike
2007 MV Agusta F4 1000R
bike_banner
Dimensions
Wheel Base:
 56.3 in. Wheel Base:
 55.4 inches
Seat Height:
 32.2 in. Seat Height:
 31.9 inches
Fuel Capacity:
 4.1 gal. Fuel Capacity:
 5.5 Gal
Dry Weight:
 381 lbs. Dry Weight:
 423.3 pounds
Suspension / Wheels
Front Tire:
 120/70 ZR17 Front Tire:
 120/70 ZR17
Rear Tire:
 190/55 ZR17 Rear Tire:
 190/55 ZR17
Front Forks:
 45mm Showa Inverted, adjustable preload, adjustable compression & rebound damping Front Forks:
 50mm Marzocchi Inverted, adjustable preload, adjustable compression & rebound damping
Engine and transmission
Displacement:
 1099 cc Displacement:
 998 cc
Bore and Stroke:
 104 x 64.7mm Bore and Stroke:
 76 mm x 55 mm
Compression:
 12.5:1 Compression:
 13.1:1
Fuel System:
 Marelli EFI w/ elliptical throttle bodies Fuel System:
 Fuel Injected
Horsepower (bhp):
 160 bhp Horsepower (bhp):
 174 hp
Torque (ft./lb.):
 90.4 Torque (ft./lb.):
 81.9
Transition:
 6 speed Transition:
 6 speed cassette
Fleet Status
Acquired:
 Feb. 2008 (new) Acquired:
 May 2013 (used)
Mileage:
 14,581 Mileage:
 11,203
Duty:
 Occasional track days, special riding excursions, photography prop Duty:
 Special riding excursions, photography prop
Modifications:
 * CRC forged levers
* Woodcraft billet clutch cover
* Ducati Performance spider pressure plate
* AVVI Billet Rear Sets
* Custom painted brake, clutch and slave reservoir caps
* Ducati Performance exhaust and 1098R ECU
* H11 HID low-beam lamp
* Reflector delete 		Modifications:
 none
Riding Impressions
  • Wicked fast.
  • Scalpel sharp handling.
  • Loud and Proud
  • Incredible performance
  • Scalpel sharp handling.
  • Head turning design (motorcycle art)
  • Closest thing to an F1 engine on the street
Formula 1, racing

Kubica Rally Crash – very seriously injured, but lived

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This past weekend, rising Formula 1 star very seriously injured in Italy.

From CNN:

Kubica undergoes emergency surgery after rally crash in Italy

(CNN) — Formula One driver Robert Kubica has undergone a seven-hour operation in an Italian hospital after crashing while competing in a rally.

The 26-year-old Pole lost control of his Skoda Fabia car at the beginning of the Ronde de Andorra rally near the town of Testico, causing the vehicle to leave the road at high speed.

Kubica, who drives for the Lotus Renault team, was airlifted to the Santa Corona hospital in nearby Pietra Ligure where he underwent emergency surgery.
[…]

I just recieved this photo of the crash. Guard rail protruding from the vehicle. It’s amazing he survied that at all.

A British website had a video from an Italian team racing on the same section, that came across the crash scene. The video was hair-raising. The route very narrow and clearly requiring amazing skill to complete without serious consequences.

Unfortunatly the video appears to have been taken down, and I have not yet found an alternative location for it.

From:

Rally footage shows aftermath of Kubica crash

Footage of the aftermath of Robert Kubica’s career-threatening rally crash on Sunday has been posted on YouTube, and it shows just how perilous the course on which the F1 driver came to grief really was.

The pictures come from a camera on board on the car of Italians Mauro Moreno and Corrado Bonato, which was just behind Kubica’s. It shows them hurtling along the narrow and twisting route through the villages and countryside of northern Italy.

After speeding along roads barely wide enough for a single car, often with crash barriers mounted on either side to prevent vehicles from careering down the steep hills or into houses, the car tears through a small town. After more than three minutes […]

Good luck Robert. I hope for a speedy recovery and eventual return to Formula 1.

Formula 1, racing

Scheuy returns to F1!!!

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Wow.. I really did not see this one coming. Sure.. Schuey has been in the Ferrari pits just about every race since his retirement.. but I did not see the team putting him back in the car, after Masa’s horrendous injury. But… I guess, if you want to ‘keep the car’ for Masa, and you have the talent still in house, there is a certain logic to this!

I know many totally detest Micheal Schumacher, but.. I think this will make for a VERY interesting rest of the season!

automotive, Formula 1

Formula 1 – LEGO style

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I purchased these LEGO Formula 1 cars (2009 team) for my son’s birthday this year. We enjoyed building them. He continues to play with them months later. He’s also the most careful I’ve ever seen him with a constructed LEGO vehicle (he has many!) and to date has not accidentally, or on purpose, broken part off.

To me, they are pretty cool, so I took a couple of pictures of them this morning, while he was busy building another LEGO vehicle.

F1_team-1

F1_team-2

F1_team-3

F1_team-4

Sorry about the image quality, I was pretty close to them and decided to cheat and use the flash. I’ll take some better quality pics at a later date. I was just inspired to post about the cars this morning, since he took them down from the shelf where he keeps then and had lined them up with some of his other cool LEGO vehicles.

Formula 1, racing, travel

Getting ready for Spain

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My how fast this trip came upon me! Time to get serious about packing my gear, selecting camera equipment to take and getting some new clothes.

On Thursday, May 7th I’m off to Barcelona (via Amsterdam — maybe I’ll get lost and miss my flight.. hahah) for 8 days. I love to travel, but all of it has been North America (Vancouver, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Maui), Central America (Mexico City, Cancun), or the Caribbean (Negril, Key West, Montego Bay, St. Maarten). This time I’m really going across the pond to the old country. Nervous and excited all at the same time.

The first leg is Seattle, WA -> Amsterdam Holland arriving at 8:00AM local time. From there I’ll be on a European version of SouthWest Airlines to Barcelona.

Once on the ground I’ll be receiving tickets to the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2009. This will be one hell of a way to kick off the APWG conference I’ll be attending.

Then it’s back across the water via JFK in New York, arriving around 2:00PM or so. I’m really looking forward to putting my own eyes on the Big Apple, even if it’s only for a short time from the plane. 3 hours later I’ll be on the last leg of my journey home to Seattle. Hopefully wiser, a little more tan, and packing some gifts for the people that work for me.