VOL. 50 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 12, 2013
picked on the only item he can
change.
Asked if he planned any special
going-away present for his longtime right-hand man, Rossi replied:
"For me, I don't need to make a
present. We gave each other many
presents over the years."
Rossi and Burgess faced the
press on Friday in a special joint
conference called by Yamaha
– reportedly at Burgess's insistence. With the body language
showing more stress than any
attempt at honeyed words could
conceal, Rossi repeated his reason for seeking change, while
Burgess took it on the chin.
He had been "blind-sided" by
the news when Rossi had told
him the day before, but agreed
with the rider that it was better he
should be told immediately rather
than go through their last weekend together with the rider concealing his dark secret.
"My intention was to carry on
next year," said Burgess, adding: "We've spent the last four
years chasing rainbows, and we
haven't nailed many in that time."
The decision was understandable in a business world, he
continued, and if it was the next
step to get Rossi back to winning
form, then it was the right decision.
"I've read many sporting biographies where people coming
to the end of their careers make
P23
changes like this – like a golfer
changing his caddy," he said.
Asked privately afterwards in
how many of those cases had
the change worked, his reply was
prompt. "None," he said.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed,
but obviously I can understand,"
he told the conference. "Only
history will determine the value of
this adjustment. The priority has
always been to move Valentino
forward. If it reignites the spark
he needs, then it is good."
But he added a cautionary
note about the 34-year-old rider's
future prospects. "As you get older, the self-preservation genes
kick in," he said.
Michael Scott
NEARLY NAKED: THE BMW S1000R
A
naked Superbike? Most
aren't exactly super, but this
one just may be. How about a
partially naked version of the
BMW S1000RR?
That's what BMW introduced
at the EICMA Show in Milan, Italy
in the form of the S1000R – a Superbike in… well, a Superbike in
no clothing. Or at least very little
clothing.
But it's all Superbike inside with
160 horsepower in a 456-pound
package that features all the
goodies of the S1000RR - Race
ABS, ASC and a choice of two
riding modes.
BMW engineers took the
S1000RR's 999cc four-cylinder
in-line powerplant and increased
the low and mid-range power
The 2014 BMW
S1000R, a seminaked version of
the BMW S1000RR
Superbike.
and torque in an effort to make
it "punchy" all through the rpm
range. They also increased the
redline by 2000 rpm and it now
makes its 160 horsepower at
11,000 rpm and its peak torque
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