Alan Cathcart, with phavorite photog Kioichi Nakamura, have put in a track day on the one and only NRV-588 Norton. Alan provides the details on Steve Spray's mount in a very good article on the new (and old) Norton.

In a sense it follows a traditional general article style, giving an intro that is a bit of a reach, followed by a bit o' history and the obligatory "How d'yer rate the thing?" filler, but the info given is excellent.

The motorcyle weighs 289 lbs sans fuel and makes 165 HP @ 11,450 RPM. The engine came from a spare engine that hadn't been cracked since its manufacture in '94. Currently: Fuel Injection, with a 120 mm of variable length intake trumpets. "Ride-by-wire" injector/throttle control. Spondon frame with single shock non-progressive linkage. (There is another, older story here with builder Brian Crighton's well known dislike for centrally located monoshock systems but this is not expanded on greatly. Maybe just enough.)

With only three weeks to go to the 24 hrs. of Daytona,
the RX-8s; I believe, were totally successful and impressive
at the Jan. test days this past weekend.
SpeedSource ended up with the fastest time on Sunday with
a 1:51.462 lap @ 114.981 mph. in the GT class.

The fastest weekend time in the GT class belongs
to a 17 year old Robert Thorne in the #30 RX-8 with
a lap time of 1:50.617 @ over 115 mph.

Except for the Goldin Brothers, all the RX-8s were at some time
near the top of their class; things look good for Mazda this year
in Daytona. This year there will be more bullets in the gun with

http://www.e.u-tokyo.ac.jp/cirje/research/workshops/business/businpaper04/heller2.pdf

CW

Speedsource had a rough day at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
in Montreal on Friday. It started great with the #70 & #69
RX-8s in the first two rows; they even dominated the beginning
of the race with Nick Ham taking over the lead from the pole
winning #07 Pontiac of Edwards & Collins. The Speedsource #70
RX-8 had control of the field with the only serious threats
from the great braking Porsches. Then the yellows came out
and at first it appeared to be no problem with the pit strategy
of the team; however, it took so long to clear the 23 Ruby Tuesday
DP porsche off the course, Tremblay took on tires and again refilled

The SpeedSource Mazda #70 RX-8 started first and
finished first at the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona.
Nick Ham put the three rotor RX-8 on the pole and
followed up with a great performance dominating
the high banked roval. Tremblay took over drop-
ping to third, but tonight the little Mazda had the
top end speed and was back in first I believe
with around 10 laps to go.
The #69 RX-8 of Assentato and Longhi had a
great start, fell all the way back to 14th at one time
only to recover to an 8th place finish.
This puts Tremblay only 7 pts. out of first for the
championship. Nick is a little further back; he

Outstanding!
Today Tremblay brought the three rotor RX-8 home
finishing 2nd @ Mid-Ohio. What's remarkable is this was
done with two glaring mistakes. One was Nick Ham
spinning out on his own and another was a pit penalty
due to a raised visor on one of the pit crew during
one of the stops.
According to Tremblay the crash at the Glen gave
Speedsource the opportunity to upgrade the #70
Mazda. The car was right up there with speed
as well as handling; it was great to watch, it appeared
they could place the car anywhere they wanted on
the track.
This moves Tremblay up to third for the championship; Ham

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/25/group-bans-drifting-at-altamont-motorsport-park-hypocrisy-ensue/

http://news.pajamasmedia.com/united_states/2006/08/10/10148734_Rotapower_Engine.shtml

Rotapower Engine Moller International, the developer of the Skycar aircraft, the Rotapower line of Wankel-type rotary engines and the Aerobot line of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), has achieved emission levels below California SULEV standards in recent tests of the Rotapower engine fueled by ethanol without exhaust aftertreatment.
The 530cc engine tested produced 22 hp at 4500 rpm with an air/fuel ratio of 20 and lambda of 1.35. The fuel was E95 with 5% acetone added plus a synthetic lubricant together with some castor bean oil. The toxic emission levels with ethanol were as follows:

I'm not exactly what this is all about, but I ran across a story about a Mazda RX-9 suspiciously lacking a rotary.

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/26/mighty-morphin-tire-technology-on-mazda-rx-9/

I exhibited my special sports car at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show. I'd like to introduce my latest car as many people as possible.
http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~t-ohno/naomi2n/en.html
Please let me know your impression. Best regards.