EICMA 2022 Review part 3

Putoline Oil: Now at Putoline Oil as Export Sales Manager, former Moto-Master man Rolf Verhagen told IDN: "Putoline's race credentials were reinforced in 2022 by Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter's second and back-to-back WorldSSP title Ten Kate Racing's 12th World Championship in total - 11 of them coming in World SSP." His fourth place in Indonesia was enough to "secure the laurels", having "absolutely dominated this year, breaking one record after another with 16 wins and 18 podiums in 22 races, with still one round to go". "We are an immensely proud partner of Ten Kate Racing," said Rolf, "and simultaneously we congratulate the team and rider on their milestones this WorldSSP season. Our N-Tech SPR+ 5W-50 lubricated the Yamaha YZF-R6 of #DoubleDomi. Thirty-four podiums in two seasons make him fourth overall in the all-time podium rankings, and Dominique is the second most-successful World Supersport rider with 26 wins in his WorldSSP career." The partnership also includes the motonext.nl project, a joint research effort towards more sustainable racing and mobility solutions;  www.putoline.com

Vertex Pistons: Literally and figuratively the "Racer's Choice", Vertex is celebrating another impressive haul of race wins and world championships scored by Vertex piston equipped riders in 2022. Wins such as the MX World Championship by Tim Gajser in MXGP class (Honda HRC), Maxime Renaux in the MXGP of the Motocross of Nations (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing), Nancy van de Ven in the WMX (Yamaha YZ250F of the Ceres 71 team), Jeremy Seewer and Jago Geerts respectively vice champions in MXGP and MX2 (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) and with Ivano van Erp as Junior 125 cc Champion (Yamaha MJC team). "GP-Racer's Choice pistons also won 1st and 2nd place in the constructor's category of the MXGP World Championship, respectively with Yamaha Racing and Honda HRC"; www.vertexpistons.com

Newfren: News from the Turin brakes manufacturer includes a unique new range of six Made-in-Italy R90 homologated sinter compounds for road use - unique because of their painted layer. The mixture of elements that make up that layer on the outside of the friction material contains slightly abrasive elements that will remove the impurities of the old pad from the face of the brake disc during the first braking cycles. The range also includes four Made-in-Italy R90 organic blends - two of them among the six new Off-Road compounds and one each for Road and Scooter - with a new sintered pad also offered for scooters. The colour coding, in the colours of the Italian flag, of course, are red for Road, green for Off-Road and blue for Scooters. Internationally recognised "Letter from Italy" author Elisabetta Quadrini also told IDN that Newfren has added to its OEM contracts with a deal to supply brake discs for the popular Fantic Carabello; www.newfren.com

GPR Italia: The big news from the environmentally conscious and responsible exhaust manufacturer is the launch of its new GPR Tech division unveiled at EICMA. Leveraging its ISO 9001 certified manufacturing heritage and precision-machining skills to present a new range of motorcycle parts and accessories, the initial focus is on Trail and Naked models with products such as sump guards, roll bars, rear luggage racks, top box carriers and protection guards for critical components such as rear brake master cylinders and oil filler housings. The new range includes designs for BMW, KTM, Royal Enfield, Honda and Benelli models in addition to all of the bestselling models from the market's leading trail bike manufacturers. Owners Mauro and Luigi Orlandi have invested heavily in their new factory and upgraded all their R&D and manufacturing processes in the past two decades and these days export some 89% of production and have a growing line-up of OEM contracts; www.gpr.it

Airoh: Strictly only a concept at this stage, and still a long way from prototyping, the Italian helmet specialist sought to state its 'street' helmet credentials with this helmet integrated airbag design. Inspired by the work of the young engineer Roberta Descrovi in the Airoh R&D department and realised in collaboration with Autoliv, the worldwide leader in automotive safety systems, "this is the world's first motorcycle helmet concept with an integrated airbag for enhanced head protection and is likely to redefine the perception of helmet safety in the motorcycle industry"; www.airoh.com

Bitubo: In strategic terms, the big news from the Padua based Italian suspension specialist has been the opening of a new North American headquarters in Florida, headed up by former Progressive Suspension man Sean Delshadi. In product terms, recent additions include JBH cartridges, SSW steering stabiliser kits and options for the Yamaha X-Max 300, 125 R3A, Ducati Scrambler models and Honda Africa Twins; www.bitubo.com

WRS: Based near the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the Italian windscreen manufacturer and famous-name distributor has been a Technical Partner with many leading teams, including Team Pramac Ducati MotoGP (Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin). The company has always been quick to develop new products, and seen here are a new screen, headlight cover and side deflectors for the Ducati DesertX. Michele Maresi (seen here on the right)explained that the new headlight cover has improved integrated and semi-concealed hardware for durability and a cleaner look compared to the stock and other aftermarket designs; www.wrs.it