W E L C O M E THE TEAM: As I type this I have just finished watching the Assen MotoGP race. What an incredible race. The wet weather sure does make things interesting. You have to take your hat off to these guys, riding a MotoGP bike in those conditions must be one of the hardest things on the planet to do. It’s crazy, and just proves what gladiators these guys really are. What an incredible ride from Jack Miller, who proved all his doubters, are there are loads out there, wrong by winning his first ever MotoGP race, and comfortably it must be said. He came from nowhere and to be honest I was, and I’m sure not the only one, waiting for him to make a mistake and crash out, as he has done many times before. But, it never happened and he cruised home for a historic win. A big, uncharacteristic mistake from Rossi who was looking so comfortable and on course to close the gap on Marquez at the top of the standings. It was not to be and you could see by his reaction that he knows that was probably the end of his title challenge. Although, if there is anyone that can pull off a miracle it’s THE DOCTOR! Speaking of The G.O.A.T, we have a review of his new game in this issue - Valentino Rossi: The Game, as well as an exclusive competition where you could win one of 5 copies of the game. Full details on page 17. As for our hero, Brad Binder, well he once again showed that he is the man to beat in the Moto3 class. Yes he had bad luck and ran off track to only finish in 12th place but he was lucky to stay on the bike. What a huge moment and I could hear the whole of SA gasp as it happened. It was a minor setback but despite that he still managed to extend his lead in the championship by a few extra points. I was lucky enough to meet up with Brad and Darryn on their brief visit back to SA. Always love chatting and catching up with these 2 superstars, who have plenty of gossip and inside news. All off the record of course so unfortunately I can’t spill the beans. What I can tell you is that I did ask him about his future plans, which are looking very good indeed. He had some great offers on the table, but in the end I think he made the best decision. He will out his plans in the near future and has promised us exclusive so keep a look out on our Facebook page. We have an exclusive Q&A in this issue with Brad, who tells us a bit more about his training and race day routines. I am also happy to announce that RideFast has signed an exclusive license with Brad and his manager to do all Brad Binder merchandise. Some exciting designs coming soon, from caps to sticker kits, for men, ladies and kids so look out! It’s very exciting times for SA riders overseas, and we have a page in our paddock news filling you in of some of the top performers. This has without a doubt put a huge spark in the SA motorcycling industry. Everyone seems to be buzzing and despite going through tough times, seems to be on the up. The all-new, re-vamped Kyalami Grand Prix circuit held the first ever South Africa Bike Festival from 27-29 May. What an amazing event it was. Thousands upon thousands of motorcyclists flooded to the track, making it one of the best ever biking events ever seen here in SA. I even managed to get out on track and do a few laps on the circuit testing new Michelin tyres (full story in next montsh issue), which I can tell you is absolutely world class! Toby Venter and his team have done a great job, not only with the change of layout, but the facilities as well. Felt like I was at a world GP circuit never mind in JHB. A big thanks to all who came and not only supported the event, but also our stand that we had there. We just about sold out of all the Brad Binder merch we had on sale, and it’s always great chatting to our passionate readers. The response to what we are doing here at RideFast was phenomenal, and I can assure you that we will do everything to keep up the high standard that we have set. One of those passionate readers, Mr Wayne van Tonder, has even come onboard and will be helping us out with some articles. He covers the SA Bike Festival as well as the Isle of Man TT event for us in this issue. Check out his blog for some other great articles - wayneswordblog.wordpress.com. Our hidden identity freak, The Singh, is back once again for part 3 of our Sportsbike road test, this time on the gorgeous Ducati Panigale 1299 S. He also helps us out on our main feature in this issue - the 6 bike Multi test, where we take bikes that don’t always get the spotlight and put them through their paces on some famous breakfast run roads here in SA. So, I’m done and time to pack as I am off to World Ducati Week, an event that I have always dreamed of going to and <strong>final</strong>ly will be. Cheers for now, EDITOR Rob Portman EDITOR & DESIGN: Rob Portman rob@ridefast.co.za 082 782 8240 ADVERTISING: Zenon Birkby zenon@ridefast.co.za 074 104 1074 ACCOUNTS & SUBSCRIPTIONS: Anette anette.acc@mweb.co.za 011 979 1363 CONTRIBUTORS: Sheridan Morais Brad Binder Darryn Binder Cam Petersen Richard Knowles Gerrit Erasmus Clive Strugnell TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 011 979 1363 OR EMAIL anette.acc@mweb.co.za Digital or print copy. DECALS BY TEL: CHRIS 082 602 1836 TONY 083 770 2400 2 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE JULY 2016
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