Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/374548
IN THE WIND P26 costs and financial problems for energy-drink sponsor Go&Fun have forced a last-minute rethink to plans for next year. Gresini had been expected to promote pro- duction-Honda rider Scott Red- ding to take over Alvaro Bautis- ta's satellite factory Honda, and to give a production machine to another young rider. His expected shift to Aprilia changes everything; and puts the British youngest-ever GP winner effectively up for grabs, to anyone who can provide him with a fac- tory Honda. This has the backing of HRC, who don't want to lose the services of Redding to Ducati, who are keen to put Redding into their satellite Pramac team. One strong candidate for Red- ding's services is the Aspar Drive M7 team, currently running Nicky Hayden and Hiroshi Aoyama on a pair of production Hondas. They have indicated interest in taking up a satellite factory bike, and the British rider along with it. Another possibility would be a move up to MotoGP with the well-funded Marc VDS team, for whom the Brit was runner up in Moto2 last year. Gresini, like Jorge "Aspar" Mar- tinez, runs teams also in Moto2 and Moto3, and at the end of last year caused surprise by switching from Honda in Moto3 to KTM. The Italian squad has worked hand in glove with HRC in the past, win- ning the 250cc World Champion- ship with Honda favorite Daijiro Kato, and a number of MotoGP races with Sete Gibernau. Michael Scott BRITISH GP IS ROUGH FOR BROUGH J eremy McWilliams had a tough time in his Moto2 debut in the British Grand Prix - for several rea- sons. The Brough Superior, using an unique carbon-fiber mono- coque chassis, has raced in the U.S. as the Taylormade Carbon 2, but since rebranding by Brough has arrived at the GPs, in a brand- building exercise of considerable risk. One of those risks is its per- formance that was exacerbated by having no time to set it up with the Dorna-supplied Moto2 en- gine, which they received only upon arrival in the paddock at Silverstone. The stiff chassis also suffered very severe chatter prob- lems with the control tires. McWilliams struggled to get within qualifying time of 107 per- cent of the fastest, but managed it in free practice, which meant under the current flexi-rule sys- tem that the former MotoGP rac- er would be allowed to start. In qualifying, however, he crashed once, remounted, only to crash once more. This time the bike followed him off the track and the back wheel hit him hard in the face, breaking his nose and leaving him looking like the victim of an assault. The Brough Superior was a fast and luxurious road bike of the interwar period, considered "the Rolls Royce of motorcycles" - the brand is being re-launched with a very retro-looking new SS100, with the same trademark polished bullet tank in a modern chassis with a four-valve twin-cam custom-made V-twin engine. The Moto2 bike is an unusual fit with this reborn classic, but gained generous publicity all the same. Michael Scott Jeremy McWilliams struggled with the new Brough Superior Moto2 bike at Silverstone. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE