I am unsure what number of instances I have been requested by buddies if I believe I might trip a MotoGP bike.
I believe the query is impressed by an episode of Prime Gear the place Richard Hammond tries to drive a Method 1 automotive and has a nightmare simply getting it off the road, by no means thoughts across the monitor. My reply is at all times “sure”. Hey, I did not get this far in life not having a ridiculous quantity of misplaced confidence, and it is labored to this point, sort of.
However there may be definitely one thing deep inside me that wonders how I might truly get on. Not simply coping with retaining the tires as much as working temperatures together with the carbon ceramic brakes, but additionally attending to grips with a lockout transmission and a clutch that is primarily designed to do one race begin.
However now I haven’t got to ponder on this anymore as a result of I believe Fabio Wibmer’s given me a reasonably good thought of how I might fare in his newest video collaboration with Purple Bull.
For many who do not know, Wibmer is a mountain biker from Austria and well-known for his road abilities movies and downhill mountain biking skill. So yeah, he is a world-class athlete on a bicycle, and he is no stranger to bikes, having raced motocross for 10 years rising up.
However even with Wibmer’s background on bikes and excellent skill in high-octane conditions on two wheels, he wasn’t getting wherever close to a MotoGP bike with out some rigorous coaching, particularly contemplating he’d by no means been on an asphalt race monitor. And it began on a mini-GP bike.
From the wheelies and stoppies, Wibmer pulls from the get-go, it is clear he is comfy on a bike. However this a part of the coaching is essential to make sure Wibmer understands physique positioning coaching and find out how to transfer round atop a motorbike on a race monitor.
As soon as Wibmer was comfy shifting across the seat and making the sort shapes essential to get a full-sized race bike round a monitor, it was time to take a large step up and throw a leg over KTM’s RC 8C, which is designed particularly for monitor use and tops out at round 152 mph. And that was a wrap for day considered one of two.
Having spent a whole day attempting to tear a 2024 BMW S1000RR round a race monitor myself (story coming quickly), solely to relaxation up and do the identical once more the subsequent day, I can perceive how drained Wimber was each mentally and bodily. I believe going above the RC 8C on day one can be asking for bother.
When day two began, it was out of the frying pan and into the fryer. Observe time ain’t low cost.
Serving to him alongside his journey is a fleet of KTM riders and engineers, however it’s not till Wibmer will get on the Moto2 bike that we’re launched to MotoGP legend Dani Pedrosa, who provides him a number of recommendations on using the Moto2 bike and find out how to transfer easily across the bike. And that is extra vital than ever, as Wibmer’s now using a motorbike that’ll do greater than 180 mph.
Ultimately, it is time for Wibmer to spin a number of laps on KTMS 2023 RC16, which has greater than 280 horsepower and tops out at round 224 mph. That is the top of two-wheeled racing equipment. Fortunately, he had Pedrosa aboard a KTM Tremendous Duke 1390 R to provide him a tow.
By all accounts, Wibmer smashed the duty of using a MotoGP bike. He appeared calm and picked up whereas dragging his knee across the Purple Bull Ring, and recorded a lap time of 01:53 minutes, which is about 25 seconds off the lap document.
But when we’re paying respect to Wibmer for attaining a 1:53, now we have to provide an enormous hat tip to Pedrosa, who towed him round on a road bike and made it seem like he was out for a Sunday stroll.
What do you assume—did Wibmer do a very good job? And extra importantly, given the chance, how do you assume you’d fare taking a MotoGP bike across the Purple Bull Ring?
