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New Indian team, Kawasaki MSD R-N Team India, debuts in World Supersport

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In a pleasant turn of events, we just came to know that a newly formed Indian team is gearing up for participating at the World Superbike Championship next year, in the Supersports category.

Apparently, this new team, called Kawasaki MSD R-N Team India, has already made their debut at Brno with Florian Marino on the Ninja ZX-6R and will now be joined by Dan Linfoot at Silverstone in the next round. Judging by Merino’s 13th place finish at Brno – the team’s debut, mind you – it certainly bodes well for the future.

We poked around the reasons behind the rather enigmatic team name and came to learn that the ‘MSD’ stands for cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who happens to be the director of the team while ‘R-N’ would have connections with Southern filmstar Nagarjuna, another director in the team. The team is being led by Team Principal, Amit Sandill, an electronics and communications engineer while Andrew Stone is the Technical Director.

The official announcement of the team’s plans will happen very soon and we are as eager as you are to hear more on this exciting new Indian step into the world of motorsports. Stay tuned to bikeindia.in for more news on the same!

Yamaha YZF-R15 v2.0 to be exported to Japan

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It has almost been twenty seven long years since India Yamaha Motors had set up a manufacturing plant in India.

And now, in what could be stated as a first in the history of our two-wheel industry, Yamaha are all set to export their flagship Indian sports bike, the R15 v2.0 to the Land of the Rising Sun. The Japanese two-wheeler marque will be exporting their first shipment of 300 units of the R15 from their Surajpur manufacturing plant in the next month and, if this move proves to be positive, the company may even begin to export the FZ series to Japan.

Hiroyaki Suzuki, MD, India Yamaha Motor, has stated that, the motorcycles manufactured in India meet the advanced specification of developed markets and they are produced at a lower cost. “We are sending R15 to Japan to test market them in the Japanese market and if the response is good, we may explore more products for export to Japan and other advanced markets in the world,” he stated.

About 4,00,000 units of two-wheelers are sold in Japan annually, with the market being dominated by 50cc scooters and the rest made up of big bikes. The R15 v 2.0 commands a price tag of 1.15 lakh on Indian roads, but in Japan, it will have a market price of ¥3.42 lakh, or 2.45 lakh. Mr. Suzuki goes on to state that Japan is a market for big bikes and racing motorcycles and within that, the 150 cc segment is fast emerging. The R15 fits the bill perfectly with its handling and its easy to race DNA and could also be an ideal choice for entry-level racing. If the response is good, Yamaha plans to export the bike to Europe next. Yamaha motors have already started exporting their bikes to Turkey and Spain, and Portugal is the next step in the block with the R15 and FZ slated to be launched there next year.

Simoncelli re-unites with his 250GP championship-winning Gilera

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Italian Superbike makers Aprilia have donated the late Marco Simoncelli’s 250GP championship winning Gilera to be put up on display at the Simoncelli memorial museum in his honour.

The rise of ‘Super Sic’ would always be embedded in our memories with the Gilera RSA250 on which he went on to win the title in 2008, adorned with his trademark 58# number. The bike was handed over to Paolo Simoncelli, Marco’s father yesterday. Luigi Dall’Igna, Aprilia’s Technical and Sport Director who came to deliver the bike stated, “Marco is an important part of history for Aprilia and the entire Piaggio Group. With us, astride the Gilera 250, he won a World Championship and thrilled millions of fans, leaving an indelible mark on the world of motorcycle competitions and in the hearts of those who had the good fortune of working with him.”

Paolo Simoncelli, who had also received his son’s white Gresini Honda RC212V at Mugello, said, “Another special day, another gesture that fills the hearts of our family in memory of a victory which made Marco happy and proud on 20 October 2008 astride this bike he achieved a dream he had always had.” The Marco Simoncelli Foundation was created in his honour to help sustain humanitarian projects for the needy, especially young people. Simoncelli took six and 12 podium places on the way to the 2008 250GP crown.

You will always remain in our hearts and your legacy will live forever ‘Super Sic’.

Suzuki joins hands with IndusInd Bank

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Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd. (SMIPL) entered into a preferred tie-up with IndusInd Bank to extend retail finance to Suzuki two-wheeler customers across its 250 dealerships.

The preferred tie up will provide Suzuki customers an easy retail finance option. The MOU was signed on July 18, 2012 by SMIPL representative Mr. Rakesh Kumar, National Head -Sales Planning and Dealer Development and IndusInd Bank representative Mr. S.V. Parthasarathy, Executive Vice President – Consumer Finance. Mr. C Ramesh Babu, VP and Head – two-wheeler finance, IndusInd was also present.

 

Ben Spies set to part ways with Yamaha

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Team Yamaha rider Ben Spies has dropped a bombshell by revealing that he will leave Yamaha after the conclusion of the current season.

The former AMA and WSBK champion tweeted,”u can say next year will be a bit diff I’d say. Excited at all prospects stay tuned.”, sending the twitter-sphere went into a frenzy. Spies’ future has always been the talk of the town in MotoGP circles with less than par performances through the first half of the current season, it is increasingly becoming quite possible that we may see Spies ply his trade elsewhere.

Spies’ Twitter feed which was earlier on Tuesday had a link to an article on Superbike Planet. The article clearly stated that Ben Spies has mentioned that he won’t be a part of Yamaha at the end of the current season. The American rider recently tweeted, ‘I’m extremely happy to push for the rest of the season to my fans and myself, next year starts a new chapter. And yes I’m pumped!’

Rumor-mongers are said to believe that Valentino Rossi might reunite with Yamaha and Spies could take his place at Ducati. All we can say is that these are just plain rumors, and as of now we just have to play the waiting game.