Wednesday, April 23, 2008

24 heures du Mans

For the first time ever, a Dutchman won the 24 hours of le Mans for motorbikes. Congratulations to Barry Veneman. See the press release of his team. And what do you know... he did it on my bike! This means that the GSXR1000 is officially the fastest production motorcycle in real-life conditions.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

And congrats to his colleagues as well. What do you mean with real-life conditions? This is an endurance race, right? I also remember Jan Lammers' sensational win at Le Mans (sports cars).

Bram said...

In MotoGP, everything on the bike only has to last 30 minutes. In endurance, they need reliable parts. Also, they will face rain, wind, darkness. They have head lights, tail lights, just like regular bikes. An endurance bike, you could run in the city. A MotoGP bike would just overheat its engine at the stop lights.

Anonymous said...

Here's what happens if you exaggerate your response to a mobile speed camera.
Presumably this poor chap tried to stay below 50 km/h over the speed limit so that he could keep his licence. With dire consequences...

Bram said...

If the bike is fast enough, the other option is to speed up instead. Top Gear once tested the Gatsonides speed camera. Anything faster than 270km/h is not registered.

Anonymous said...

Funny that you say that. I just happen to read an article in IT magazine Computable and there is now a system that is certified up to 330 km/h. It's just that their 612 hp Porsche Carrera GT couldn't get any faster :-). The print article (not online) claims that the old 8-bit systems were certified up to 255 km/h. Oh, and the new system iROSE runs Linux :-). The only solace seems to be that it is based on detectors in the road ("lussen") so I guess it cannot be used for mobile speed traps. It's an arms race, that's for sure.

Happy Queen's Day!

Bram said...

Ah... linux powered eh? It is time for GPL Version 4: The software license is granted provided it will in no manner be used by governments to fine or prosecute citizens of that government.

Bram Stolk Sr said...

..maar die camera's/foto's zijn toch gekoppeld aan automatische kenteken registratie herkenning? werkt dat dan ook als het kenteken 90/270 graden is gedraaid? Heeft deze Speedy Gonzales nu wel of geen bekeuring gekregen?
Zou een beetje slimme advocaat niet kunnen stellen dat de wet spreekt van het RIJDEN op de openbare weg met een hogere snelheid dan toegestaan terwijl hier sprake is van GLIJDEN....
Sterker nog..deze motorrijder is rustig 120 km/hr toerend plotseling dermate geschrokken door een verstoring van het normale vangrail/berm patroon door een opgestelde camera dat hij te bruusk in de remmen ging..dat de radar daarbij een snelheid constateerde van 137 km/hr komt door de extra gegenereerde doppler op de radar door de spaken van het nog lang ronddraaiend achterwiel...kortom justitie wordt aansprakelijk gesteld voor de geleden schade!!

Anonymous said...

Ik ben bang dat zo'n geek defence niet op gaat bij de rechter. Vraag maar aan Hans Reiser.