Motorcycle Grand Prix Year 1988 1989

'Moto GP is about the individual’s story, the battles between the individuals, the different personalities, the different men that are striving for one goal, to win the world championship'. Freddie Spencer, three-time world champion Since its earliest beginnings on public road courses to today’s purpose-built championship courses, Moto GP has always been about one thing: pushing man and machine to new heights of performance. Telling the story of how leading manufacturers such as Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki, have strived to build the perfect machine, and detailing the incredible rivalries of such sporting legends as Kenny Roberts and Barry Sheene, Freddie Spencer and Eddie Lawson, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo – to name just a few – Phil Wain uncovers the stories behind historic races, the innovations that made the best bikes on the grid and describes the infamous moments in which riders were made champions. Moto GP is a photographic celebration of the heroes, bikes and circuits that have defined the adrenaline-soaked world of motorbike racing.

This book is the fifth in the Mick Walker Racing Motorcycle series. It covers the Grand Prix Motorcycles from Japan.

Until the 1970s, North America was considered a backwater with respect to world championship–level motorcycle road racing. European racers viewed American riders as being less talented and rode around in circles on tracks made of dirt. That all changed when Kenny Roberts exploded onto the Grand Prix racing scene and became the first American to win the world championship in motorcycle road racing's premier class. Roberts' success launched an era of American dominance that lasted for nearly 20 years and still echoes through the annals of the sport. This is the story of the legendary American riders who beat the Europeans at their own game, including Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Kenny Roberts Jr., and the most recent American world champion, Nicky Hayden. With additional chapters about the American World Superbike champions and those Americans who competed for the World Championship, this is the story road racing fans have been waiting decades to read.

The World Championship Grand Prix (WCGP) is the premier championship event of motorcycle road racing. The WCGP was established in 1949 by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), and is the oldest world championship event in the motorsports arena. This book, developed especially for racing enthusiasts by motorsports engineering expert Dr. Alberto Boretti, provides a broad view of WCGP motorcycle racing and vehicles, but is primarily focused on the design of four-stroke engines for the MotoGP class. The book opens with general background on MotoGP governing bodies and a history of the event’s classes since the competition began in 1949. It then presents some of the key engines that have been developed and used for the competition through the years. Technologies that are used in today’s MotoGP engines are discussed. A sidebar discussion on calculating brake, indicated, and friction performance parameters provides mathematical information for readers who like such technical details. Future developments of MotoGP engines, including the use of biofuels and recovery of thermal and braking energy, are presented. The introduction concludes with a chart that details the winners of the various classes of WCGP motorcycle racing since the competition began in 1949. The bulk of the book consists of four previously published SAE technical papers that were expressly chosen by Dr. Boretti to provide greater insight to the relationships between engine parameters and performance, namely the influence on friction and mean effective pressure of traditional spark ignited four stroke engines tuned for a narrow high power output. The first paper provides the reader with a quick way to estimate the friction loss and engine output. The second paper discusses output and fuel consumption of multi-valve motorcycle engines. The third paper, published in 2002, compares WCGP engines developed to comply with the then-new FIM regulations that allowed four-stroke engines in the competition. The fourth paper examines specific power densities and therefore the level of sophistication and costs of MotoGP 800 cm3 engines. This paper shows the performance of these as well as the 1000cc SuperBike engines. The fifth paper presents four engine concepts including one for a MotoGP/Superbike with 2 and 3 cylinders. The sixth paper compares 3 and 4 in-line, V4, V5, and V6 layouts through 1-D engine simulations. The seventh paper considers the actual operation of 800cc MotoGP engines on the race track, where the percentage of the duration in fully open throttle is less than 20% of the race, but the partial throttle is used for as much as 80% of the race. The final paper in the compendium reports on the Honda oval piston engine concept.

The 916 spearheaded the Ducati revival of the 1990s. Introduced at the end of 1993, this product of Massimo Tamburini and the Cagiva Research Centre took the water-cooled four-valve engine of the 851, placing it in an evolutionary chassis with revolutionary styling. The 916 immediately set new standards of performance for twin-cylinder machines, epitomised by its unequalled success in the World Superbike Championship. This book will trace the conception and development of the four-valve Ducati from its first appearance at the Bol d’Or in 1986. By 1990 Raymond Roche gave Ducati their first World Superbike Championship, this being followed by Texan Doug Polen. Star British rider Carl Fogarty then took over the reins, and along with Troy Corser and Troy Bayliss dominated the World Superbike Championship from 1994 until 2001. Along with the factory racers, all the related four-valve models will be covered in depth, from the initial 851 and 888, to the 748, ST4 and 996. All the variants, including the Sport Production series, will be detailed, along with the rare and beautiful Supermono. This book is the definitive guide to these legendary Ducati models. Ian Falloon is one of the world’s leading motorcycle historians. He has more than 40 years experience with motorcycles, spent 25 years writing for magazines around the world, and has written numerous books about motorcycles. He specialises in Italian marques such as Moto Guzzi, Laverda, MV Agusta, and of course, Ducati.

This illustrated history jam packed with more than 150 stunning photographs celebrates high performance motorbike racing since the start of the world championship in 1949.The daring exploits of motorcycle race legends Valentino Rossi, Barry Sheene, Casey Stoner and John Surtees are all gloriously celebrated in Moto GP: The Illustrated History. Each racing decade is dissected and discussed, as are the big incidents, top personalities and technological innovations. To complete the book, motorcycle racing's greatest names – including John Surtees, Giacomo Agostini, Kenny Roberts, Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and young phenom Marc Marquez – provide exclusive personal insights and accounts of what it is like to race at speeds of 180mph. Moto GP: The Illustrated History is a unique book which brilliantly conveys the exhilarating spirit of this popular sport.