Suzuki has revived the Phantom name with a new special edition GSX-R1000R, available with an RRP of £17,499.

Like the iconic GSX-R1000 K6 Phantom from 2006, the new GSX-R1000R Phantom is completed with a Yoshimura exhaust – this time an R11 silencer and heatshield finished in black metal magic with a carbon cap – and a smattering of genuine Suzuki accessories, including track-focussed brake and clutch lever guards, a tank pad and fuel cap trim, and a smoked double bubble screen.

A single seat cowl matches the matt black livery, which is complemented by gloss black decals. Standing out against the stealthy black colour scheme are gold wheels and gold Showa Balance Free front forks.

The GSX-R1000R produces 202PS from its inline-four cylinder engine, which uses the same variable valve timing system as the MotoGP world championship-winning GSX-RR. A full suite of electronics features a bi-directional quickshifter, lean angle-sensitive, 10-mode traction control and ABS, launch control, and three power modes.

• Christian Iddon on the podium in all three races at Donington Park
• Josh Brookes no longer in the fight for the 2021 British Superbike title
• Tommy Bridewell re-signs with the Oxford Products Racing Ducati team for 2022

Race 1
Christian Iddon rode a great race at Donington Park on Saturday in cold, wet, and windy conditions. He had a poor grid position back in 17th after crashing his VisionTrack Ducati during qualifying. But a brave ride saw him climb though the field, and aided by fallers, he was up to second place by Lap 12 behind race leader Gino Rea (Buildbase Suzuki), with Kyle Ryde (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) battling him and Lee Jackson (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) just behind and ready to pounce. 

Meanwhile the treacherous conditions had ended in disaster for both Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell, after they both crashed out in separate incidents on Lap 5. 

Brookes, who was running in second, ended up on the grass after saving a moment on his bike, but was unable to keep his VisionTrack Ducati upright. And just seconds later Bridewell, who was behind Brookes on track and momentarily promoted to up to second, crashed his Oxford Products Racing Ducati under braking in the poor conditions.

The Ducati duo of Brookes and Bridewell were just a couple of many riders that fell victim to the atrocious conditions, with Title Fighters Glenn Irwin (Honda Racing), Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW Motorrad) and Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) all crashing out.

Rea went on to win the race, with Ryde second and Iddon, the sole Ducati rider, finishing the race as the top Championship contender in third.

Read more here 

ESPARGARÓ'S GP ENDS ON THE NINTH LAP IN TEXAS

ALEIX HAD MANAGED TO WORK HIS WAY UP SEVEN POSITIONS WHEN A CRASH ENDED HIS RACE

A crash during the ninth lap with no physical consequences for the rider brought the GP of the Americas to an end for Aleix Espargaró.

After starting from the seventh row - evidence of a consistently difficult weekend - Aleix began to move up through the positions. Even without pushing too hard, he had already moved up seven places all the way to twelfth when he fell victim to the crash. This ended a seemingly parenthetical weekend in an otherwise fantastic season for Aleix and his Aprilia RS-GP. But even on the only track on the calendar where he was never able to find that competitive edge, Aleix Espargaró was still riding a respectable race.

Now the goal is to recover energy - both physical and mental - and to get back to the trend of positive growth that has characterised his season thus far in order to best tackle the final three races of the championship.


ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I am truly disappointed. Not so much for the crash, which is always a possibility in racing, but certainly not when you’re riding with such high lap times. Unfortunately, something just didn't work this weekend and we need to take a deeper look at that. Until now, we have been competitive everywhere, with various results but consistently battling in the group of the best. I want to apologise to the team. Five crashes in three days are definitely not a good record and both they and the engineers have worked nonstop throughout the weekend. The goal was to stay calm and aim for the best possible result, which was the points zone for us today. We were doing just that before the crash, which fortunately came without any physical consequences."

DIFFICULT QUALIFIERS FOR ALEIX AND APRILIA AT COTA

The Circuit of the Americas proves once again to be a tough nut to crack for Aleix Espargaró astride his Aprilia. Calling the asphalt bumpy would be a huge understatement and it keeps the Spaniard from exploiting the strong points of the RS-GP. Despite making considerable progress in terms of the settings, which was especially clear in FP4, a couple of crashes at decisive moments further complicated the day.

For the first time this season, Aleix was unable to go through to Q2 due to finishing outside the top 10 in the first three sessions and not getting through the selection stage of Q1 due to a crash. These statistics confirm the abnormal situation generated by the Texan circuit in a season where Aleix is lying seventh in the overall championship standings.

So, for a race that promises to be a complicated one, Espargaró will be starting from the best spot on the seventh row of the grid.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"This has certainly not been the best weekend for us so far. The RS-GP is competitive everywhere, but this asphalt that is in such bad condition really puts us in a rough spot. Not only do I not have the pace that I had been able to maintain until now, but as soon as I try to push, I risk crashing, like what happened today. I apologise to the entire team. They are already working hard to fix the bike for tomorrow. We’ll test a few things in the warm-up session as well to try to make the bike easier to ride and more stable. The track is the same for everyone, so it won’t be easy, but we’ll have to make a go of it and shoot for the best possible result."

Ace Cafe London’s annual “End of Summer Scooter & Mod Special” is at the cafe 9am to 5pm on Sunday 3rd October. 

This year we are hosting the “Tony Class Memorial Special”, celebrating with the Vespa Club of Britain the 75th anniversary of Vespa. 

Founded 1946 in Florence, Italy, R. Agius opened in 1951 on the Edgware Road, London W2 selling Vespa’s. Today they are the UK's oldest original retro family run Piaggio Vespa dealer and will be joining us for the day as special guests at the Ace!

Ragius Piaggio
Vespa Club UK

 This Scooter Sunday Special is for all that “Keep the Faith”!

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