We recently made a post regarding the 2010 Ducati 848 Hayden Edition and now came across a video of one such special bike on the internet. It is located at Commonwealth Motorcycles in Louisville, Kentucky in expectancy of that also special future owner.
Here at Top Speed we love anything and everything that goes fast, so during our weekend on the Monterey peninsula we had to make a stop at the legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the MotoGP Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. Once there we were pleasantly surprised when the track staff offered us the opportunity to take a ride around the prestigious racing circuit aboard one of Mazda’s modified safety cars. The lineup of matte black and white pace cars included an RX-8 four door sports coupe, a CX-7 crossover and the all new Mazda 6.
At first we were a little disappointed not to see a Miata wearing the pace car livery, equipped with the fancy amber light bar and beefier tires allowing the trio of Mazdas to corner like champions and stay ahead of the two wheeled racers. However, after a quick trip in the CX-7 and Mazda 6, we were absolutely convinced that the Miata’s fun to drive DNA runs rich throughout the entire automaker’s lineup.
When the track marshall told me to get into the CX-7, our thoughts were limited to, “what a bummer, we come all the way to California and we get stuck riding in the cow of the group", boy were we wrong. Inside the crossover everything was stock except for a circuit board to control the flashing lights and a roll bar that gave the bright blue Scroth 4 point racing harnesses a place to secure themselves to while we were strapped in tight to the leather wrapped seat. The only modification to the drive train of the Euro-spec CX-7 were a set of Brembo brakes and a set of plus sized forged TE-37 wheels from Volk Racing wrapped in sticky rubber.
Nevertheless, it seems that these basic modifications were enough to turn the CX-7 into a track day special. It was amazing how well the sports inspired crossover handled on the track. We were instantaneously blown away by how fast this little Sport-Utility could lap the circuit, and especially the way that the driver was able to tame the infamous corkscrew. We were surprised to find ourselves on the heels of the other safety cars, the driver was really hammering it. Truning in sharply, pumping the steering wheel like mad, clipping the apexes, pushing the CX-7 to its limit. The car did an amazing job of staying on track. Mazda has truly figured out a way to incorporate their zoom-zoom high performance attitude into even the most unlikely of products.
Check the gallery for more photos and details about each of the cars.
Before the MotoGP race at Mazda Raceways, and our lucky pre-grid visit. Yamaha gave us the opportunity to walk right in their secret garages (team Fiat and team Monster).
Located in the back of the garage, the storage area is packed with expensive supplies, all stored in travel cases that probably cost more than any street bikes. Tires are cooking on aluminum racks, and precious suspension bits are piled as if it was Christmas. In between the storage and the pit garage, a narrow engineering room offers just enough space to pack 5 or 6 engineers and their laptops. Behind all that you ’finally’ enter the dream garage, with only two bikes and not one bit of mess anywhere to be found. The floor is carpeted to the team colors and all tool boxes are shinning as if they were just getting out of the show room.
It certainly take more mess for anyone to change their oil than it takes those mechanics to change every single part on those bikes altogether. Simply amazing!
Also check out the Autoblog article made by our friend Drew Philips. He took some great shots during the same visit.
Dani Pedrosa obtained a well-deserved victory at Mazda Raceways Laguna Seca this weekend, after more than a year away from the highest position of the podium. He managed to keep Valentino Rossi behind while ’the doctor’ was about to pass him on the last straight. A few more laps and Rossi could have take the win. A fantastic race for Pedrosa.
Ducati presented at Mazda Raceways Laguna Seca a new version of their middleweight supersport model. The 848 Nicky Hayden Edition was unveiled by the Ducati Star itself and it will be produced in a limited number of 100 units and sold only in the USA.
What sets this bike apart from the standard model is the special Hayden paintjob and the pilot’s autograph on the gas tank, but also the $14,495 price tag (only $500 more than what you would pay for the regular version).
This bike is the first Ducati to receive an official racing paint job as far as we can remember. It does look very good, but we prefer our Ducati plain red, away from the busy Japanese paint jobs.
MotoGP has long inspired competing manufacturers to implement racing technologies on their road-going motorcycles, but nobody believed (although everybody thought at the idea at least once) that a MotoGP bike will ever be turned into a road-legal one and be sold to those willing to pay the big bucks. Ducati was the first, and currently only, to break the ice in 2007 with the Desmosedici RR, which was derived from the Desmosedici GP6 Grand Prix motorcycle, and in 2009 the world is still amazed of this even being possible, not to mention the bike’s evolution. > More
Valentino Rossi obtained last weekend at Assen his 100th Grand Prix victory as a professional pilot and became again the current leader of the provisory MotoGP top, after an easy race in which no pilot managed to seriously threaten his position. Lorenzo finished second and Stoner came in third.
The Catalan Grand Prix was a shot of adrenaline for the entire Fiat Yamaha Team as racers Lorenzo and Rossi fought for the first place on the podium. In the end, Rossi ended up drinking the winner’s champagne while Lorenzo came in second and Stoner third.
This has to be the greatest race of the season so far!
Get the detailed results and see the video after the break.
The qualifying round of the 250cc MotoGP race in Mugello saw Honda rider Raffaele de Rosa losing almost total control of his motorcycle after being thrown from the seat. We say almost because what looked like a serious crash transformed in one of the best motorcycle saves caught on tape in a while, if not THE best. The race rider remains calm, continuing to maneuver his bike after being hit two times in the chest and manages to get back on the seat after even missing the footrest once. Unbelievable!
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