Ups & Downs
Ups & Downs
UP: To Troy Corser, for putting the pedal to the metal. Let go from Aprilia’s World Superbike squad, the former AMA and WSB champ competed in the final round of the Lamborghini GTR Supertrophy series at Valencia, Spain. Fourth- and third-place finishes in the two-day event garnered the Australian a drive in the Lambo support race at this year’s Melbourne Grand Prix. “It was a fun weekend,” Corser said. “But it’s a strange feeling touching somebody else at speed and not crashing!”
DOWN: To bike-riding musician Brian McKnight, for succumbing to the “red mist.” Profiled last year in the Los Angeles Times, the Grammy-nominated artist explained his “need for speed” by saying, “Sunday is more of a ‘me’ thing: racing in the canyons with my friends on the motorcycles, through to the Rock Store, a gathering place for motorcycles, both fast bikes and Harleys. The first one to the top wins the $1000 pot. I have a Yamaha R1 and a Ducati 996. When I’m on a motorcycle, if I see blue lights, you can come and catch me.” Hey, Brian, ever heard of Willow Springs?
UP: To Aprilia, for going “hydro.” The Italian bike-maker’s Enjoy Fuel Cell prototype, which is based on its electricassist bicycle but fueled by hydrogen, was one of 34 items ranging from an artificial liver to a mashed-potato machine chosen by Time magazine as one of the top inventions of 2001. “Inventions come in all shapes and sizes,” wrote the magazine’s editors. “Some are as simple as purple catsup. Others push the limits of quantum physics.
The real measure of an invention is not just how well it works or how impressively it is engineered, but how it changes our lives." Aprilia hopes to begin selling the machine next year. Price? About $2300.
