2011 Yamaha Royal Star 2011 Royal Star Venture S $11,790 Book Value* on 2040-motos

Moto blog

How to solve the mystery of the wildcard replacement

With the two test riders coming forward to act as replacement riders for the injured Rossi and Aoyama, it brought back memories of the days when the grid would be gifted with wildcard riders from the respective countries. The Japanese rounds were always attended by some of the top guys with experience of the 500GP and MotoGP bikes, through racing them in their domestic championships. What resulted was getting to witness the exciting and talented Japanese riders, and bring new riders to the attention of the teams.

The Japanese oddity to naming teams

Whenever the calendar shifts to a major Japanese race, such as the Suzuka 8hr, one of the more amusing things to do is glance down the team sheet This years highlight for me has to be team Moto Bum, with other stand outs including aprilia D.D.BOYS, Team Etching Factory Yamaha and MITO MOTO & e'freaks Honda. Looking back through the ages some of the great Japanese team names have been Burning Blood Racing Team, Dog Fight Racing and Team Moto Space amongst others. Credit to a member of the Twitterati @temalive

An Island tour with a legend

What you are watching is a highlight of Mike Hailwood's segment from the racing documentary Take it to the Limit - A Motorcycle Odyssey. The Yamaha - built by the extraordinary Kel Carruthers - that Hailwood is riding in the clip featured a unique frame with the camera housed within. The voice-over recording provided by Hailwood was done by taping a small mic to the bottom of his lip so he could dictate his guide to the 37.73 mile route.