My Kingdom for a Paddock Pass

Given the ultra-regulated nature of MotoGP and of its parent body, DORNA, I'm fully aware that this is a long shot, and a futile one at best. But hey, if you don't ask...

"Please, sir..." Our E-in-C on the blag. Bless...

So anyway, I'm planning a road trip to Le Mans for the French Grand Prix in view of making a blog article of it. However, to make it really interesting and special, there's just one thing missing: a MotoGP paddock pass / invitation. I know, they're made out of 100% pure unobtanium, are as rare as rocking-horse shit and as such are only distributed to people who've jumped through all the hoops and have been vetted by DORNA. But be that as it may; if anybody with the right connections, or a MotoGP team, wants to make a small-time blog editor really happy, I'd be eternally grateful for a paddock pass.

In return, all I can promise is that you'll be glowingly mentioned in the article; naturally if you're a MotoGP team (or part of a team), you'll get a stand-alone article that will be published alongside the main piece.

Thanks,

Marc

Editor-in-Chief, The Thruxtonian

Photo credit: Rex

Addio, Ingeniere...

We are very saddened to hear of the passing of Massimo Tamburini. Born in Rimini, he ran a heating company, but quickly made a name for himself tuning bikes, which eventually led him to co-found Bimota (he was the "ta"). After leaving Bimota and having spent some time working in Roberto Gallina's 500cc GP team, he was head-hunted by Claudio Castiglione to work for Cagiva. It was during his time as head of Cagiva's CRC department that he came up with two eye-opening designs for Ducati: the Paso, with its fully enclosed fairing, and the 916, which even today is still considered by many to be one of the most beautiful bikes ever designed.

Once the Castiglione brothers sold Ducati, he began designing bikes for another brand they had bought, MV Agusta. There, he designed a whole string of striking machines, from the first 1000cc F4 to his last bike for them, the 675cc F3 Brutale. In fact, it can be said that most of MV's range bears Ingeniere Tamburini's mark.

#TripleTuesday

Whilst others are busy publishing tall stories today (look at the date...), we thought we'd publish a pretty picture of a trio of Triumph Speed Triples, one of which belongs to Roberto Carta, from Sardinia, a fellow member of the "Speed Triple Riders & Fans" Facebook page.

Photo credits: Roberto Carta