Ducati has introduced its first carbon-frame electric mountain bike (e-MTB), the 2024 Powerstage RR Limited Edition. Based on a Shimano EP801 drive unit, premium features include Öhlins front and rear suspension.
The parent company board of BMW Motorrad has approved a further share buy-back programme with a volume of up to € 2bn. The repurchased shares will be largely cancelled, reducing share capital accordingly. It is scheduled to start upon conclusion of the first buy-back programme, which was started in July 2022, and is expected to be completed in mid-2023. The authorisation to repurchase up to 10% of the share capital within five years was granted by the Annual General Meeting of BMW AG in May 2022.
Iván Cervantes, five-times Enduro World Champion and Triumph Global Ambassador, has officially claimed the Guinness World Records title for 'The greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours (individual)'. Riding a Tiger 1200 GT Explorer on the High-Speed Ring at the Nardò Technical Centre in Italy, Iván travelled more than 2,493 miles in a 24-hour period. This beat the previous record of 2,116.39 miles set by American Carl Reese in 2017, by a huge margin of more than 372.82 miles. To do so, Cervantes had to ride consistently at speeds of over 124 mph. Surpassing the existing record with five hours to spare, he went on to set a new benchmark of 2,485.49 miles by riding a further 376.551 miles.
Yamaha Motor has announced its eventual withdrawal from the snowmobile market, with sales in Japan to end with remaining 2022 model year inventory, in Europe in 2024, and in North America in 2025. Having sold its first snowmobiles in 1968, Yamaha was an early adopter of environmentally friendly four-stroke models. However, it has concluded that it will be difficult to continue a sustainable business in the snowmobile market. Going forward, Yamaha will concentrate management resources on current business activities and new growth markets.
BMW Motorrad has marked production of its 1,000,000th GS model with a boxer engine at its Berlin-Spandau factory - a BMW R 1250 GS. BMW motorcycles have been manufactured in Berlin since 1969 and the BMW Motorrad GS models with boxer engines since 1980.
Replacing the cancelled Argentina season finale, the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto will host a rearranged 12th and final round of the 2023 WorldSBK season on October 27th-29th. The Spanish venue has hosted 21 WorldSBK races in its history, with the latest held in September 2021. The WorldSBK and WorldSSP seasons will conclude at Jerez at the end of October; the WorldSSP300 season will finish as planned with the Pirelli Portuguese Round at Portimao from the 29th September to 1st October.
Reuters reports that car sales in Russia rose 151.8% year-on-year in June 2023, despite 'western' sanctions. This continues a rebound seen there from a dramatic -59% car industry slump in 2022. Russia's auto industry had been heavily reliant on investment, equipment and parts from overseas and in response to the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, many foreign automakers withdrew from the Russian market entirely.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed, a summer spectacular set in the grounds of the famous Goodwood House in West Sussex in the UK, this year hosted its largest ever celebration of MotoGP - in recognition of the recent 1000th FIM Grand Prix, and before 2024 sees the 75th anniversary since the very first World Championship in 1949.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
