The refreshed Audi RS Q8 is set to make its debut soon. The high-performance SUV, which sits at the top of the range, was recently spotted in Germany near the Nurburgring. Despite still being wrapped in camouflage, the latest photos provide a close-up view as the Audi drives at slower speeds.
In fact, this is the same prototype that was seen back in July, with the number plates, wheels, and black color remaining unchanged. Interestingly, Audi continues to conceal the four rings in the grille, even though the rest of the refreshed Q8 lineup was revealed in September.
The 2023 Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival is set to kick off this September weekend. From September 21 to 23, 17 films will be screened at Revue Cinema on Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto. The event includes five world premieres, and there will be Q&A sessions with filmmakers throughout the festival. Please note that all films will be shown exclusively at the cinema and will not be available for online streaming.
However, for those unable to attend in person, TMFF plans to stream four additional films on its online platform from September 24 to 29. VIP pass holders can enjoy both in-person and online screenings. Regular tickets are available on a time block basis, with prices set at $18 CAD per block.
This year’s film lineup includes titles such as “A Motorcycle Saved My Life,” “Dark Rider,” “Women in the Front Seat,” and “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Touring.” If you can’t make it to Toronto, don’t worry—the TMFF will be going on tour, with stops planned in Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal. There are also plans in the works to bring the festival to other cities in North America.
For more information about the TMFF and how to get involved, you can visit their website.
If you’re anywhere near Mandello del Lario, Italy between September 7 and 10, 2023, then you may want to check out the Moto Guzzi Open House 2023 celebration. Last year’s annual gathering of Guzzisti celebrated the storied brand’s 100th anniversary. This year promises fun, test rides, and plenty of Guzzi culture at the Moto Guzzi Museum and factory.
A full schedule of events is planned for Guzzi fans from around the world. Visitors can check out the museum and factory, including getting to see the engine assembly line and wind tunnel areas. A variety of vendors, live entertainment, food, beverages, and more will be on hand to make the Moto Guzzi Open House 2023 a fun weekend for the whole family.
The official Moto Guzzi community, called the Clan, will also be present throughout the event. Guzzisti who are already members can claim a special welcome kit from them, and Guzzi owners who wish to sign up to join the club can also do so on site.
5Photos
Test rides of the full 2023 range of Moto Guzzi bikes will be available, including a special circuit set up just for testing out the V100 Mandello. On the official event website, Guzzi says it created this V100 Mandello area “so that you can really understand what makes it roar.” All test ride bookings are only available on site at the event and will not be scheduled online.
If you have time to check out the Piaggio Museum in Pontedera, it’s hosting a new exhibition featuring the art of Ettore Gambioli, timed to coincide with the Moto Guzzi Open House 2023 event. Gambioli is from the Marche region of Italy, and much of his artwork focuses on the history of the Moto Guzzi brand. Watercolors, drawings, and sculptures are all part of the multimedia artist’s repertoire, so be sure to check it out if you get the chance.
Finally, if you’re eager to schedule a future tour with the Moto Guzzi Experience organizers, they’ll also be on hand at this event so you can speak about upcoming tours. While many of the 2023 Moto Guzzi Experience calendar dates have passed, there are still some remaining. This year’s events included rides in various places in Italy, as well as the Balkans, the US, Tunisia, Spain, and Morocco.
When it comes to technical support, there is a piece of advice that is almost always given: restart or reboot your device. This holds true for situations where your computer fails to detect your phone after connecting via USB. Rebooting is beneficial because it clears out your system memory, providing a fresh start. To troubleshoot this issue, it is recommended to restart both your phone and your computer.
To restart an Android device, press and hold the power button until the power menu appears. Depending on your phone, you can either tap or swipe “Restart.” On Windows, simply click the power icon on the Taskbar and select “Restart.” For macOS, click the Apple logo icon on the top-left corner of your screen and choose “Restart…” from the menu that appears.
GasGas recently showcased its complete lineup of motorcycles for 2024 at a public event near San Moreno, Italy. Our team at Dirt Bike had the opportunity to ride all the different motocross and off-road bikes, and among them, the EX450F cross-country model left the biggest impression. It is worth noting that this model is exclusive to the U.S. market. At first glance, the EX450F appears to be heavily influenced by motocross. It shares many similar components with the MC450F MX bike, including the five-speed gearbox. However, there are a few adaptations for off-road riding, such as the 18-inch rear wheel and the inclusion of a kickstand. Overall, the GasGas EX450F is better suited for cross-country racing compared to its counterparts in the KTM and Husqvarna lineup. The power delivery is smoother and less intimidating. It is still incredibly fast but provides a less exhausting experience. The bike comes with two preprogrammed maps on the ECU, and the version we tested was set to the milder option. We had the opportunity to observe Gary Sutherlin putting the EX450F through its paces on GasGas’ specially prepared motocross, cross-country, and grass track test loops.
Munich / Boom. The Tomorrowland festival in the Belgian town of Boom near Antwerp is a globally renowned event that attracts fans of electronic dance music. Building on their successful partnership from last year, BMW and the popular music festival are taking their collaboration to the next level. This time, they are introducing an innovative way for music enthusiasts across Europe to create their own dance hits with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) and share them on social media.
By incorporating AI into its first pan-European social media campaign, BMW once again demonstrates its commitment to driving innovation in the premium car industry. Teaming up with The Marcom Engine, BMW’s European agency platform, the company employs cutting-edge technology to create an unparalleled music experience.
The unique sound exploration experience offered by futurerecord.ai allows electronic dance music lovers to create personalized songs through the “Track to Tomorrow” initiative. Users engage in a chatbot conversation where they answer various questions about their preferred music genre, tempo, current mood, and visions for the Tomorrowland festival. Based on each participant’s responses, the AI mixes a customized “Track to Tomorrow” by assigning specific musical elements to their answers. Additionally, the answers are used to generate original lyrics for the track using a ChatGPT interface, which are then displayed in sync with the beat.
Encouraging social media sharing, the finished “Track to Tomorrow” is enhanced by AI-generated high-impact cover artwork. It can be directly shared from the AI application using a link, and users can also download various assets optimized for social media, such as a video featuring the AI-generated visuals and audio track, ideal for platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Moreover, participants have the option to add an intro with a dedication, further increasing the shareability of this unique content.
This Europe-wide social media campaign will generate and share content across all European markets leading up to, during, and after the actual event. Influencer activation and an innovative marketing strategy on TikTok complement the campaign. Overall, BMW’s first pan-European social media campaign aims to highlight the strength of the European social hub while reinforcing the brand’s reputation for innovation.
The futurerecord.ai website went live on September 17, 2022.
A semi-truck carrying human waste started leaking on Interstate 95 near Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Monday night, turning the road into a slippery mess. While no one was seriously injured, the spill resulted in multiple accidents, leading the police to close the northbound lane for approximately three hours.
Upon receiving reports of a truck “spilling an unknown substance” around 10:30 p.m., Connecticut police arrived at the scene to find the road covered in fecal matter, creating slippery conditions that caused several crashes.
After the waste spillage, a Toyota Avalon lost control and crashed into a concrete barrier, followed by a Honda Civic colliding with two concrete barriers before sliding across the northbound lanes. Another collision occurred between another Honda Civic and a Honda CR-V shortly after. Thankfully, there were no injuries reported in any of these incidents.
At around 11 p.m., a motorcyclist also lost control of his bike and fell due to the slippery road. He sustained minor injuries and was taken to a Bridgeport Hospital but was later released.
The most severe accident took place at 11:41 p.m. involving a truck and two state police cruisers. The Connecticut troopers had parked their cruisers in the median with their emergency lights on to warn drivers of an accident and assist those involved. While doing so, a Freightliner tractor-trailer jackknifed, hitting the driver’s side of another semi-truck. As a result, it slid into the median and collided with one of the state police cruisers, pushing it forward and striking the other parked cruiser in front of it.
The driver of the leaking truck was apprehended by the police after being contacted by his employer and instructed to pull over. The 34-year-old man from Waterbury, Connecticut, was driving a 2017 Mack truck that was still leaking when he was found. He was arrested and charged with reckless driving, driving with an unsecured load, and a dozen counts of first-degree reckless endangerment. He was later released on a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on August 8.
Audi has ambitious plans to increase its production of battery-electric vehicles in the coming years. As the company ramps up its EV production, it is also showcasing its lineup of high-performance cars. In a new video, Audi pits its latest electric offering, the RS E-Tron GT, against its past performance powerhouse, the RS6 Performance, in a thrilling drag race.
The RS E-Tron GT boasts an impressive 637 horsepower, but its torque output falls a bit short at 604 pound-feet. Additionally, the electric sedan’s weight is on the heavier side, coming in at 5,169 pounds. Audi has also limited the car’s top speed to 155 miles per hour, but it compensates with a quicker acceleration time, reaching 62 mph in just 0.3 seconds faster than the RS6 Performance.
Are you planning to be in or near Mattighofen, Austria during summer, 2023? If you’re a Dakar Rally fan, a KTM fan, or both, then you should definitely make plans to check out the KTM Motohall museum in Mattighofen if you’re in the area. The museum recently opened its Legends of the Dakar exhibit in May 2023, featuring 10 different bikes that played pivotal roles in KTM’s rich Dakar history.
The exhibition, as the best such exhibitions tend to do, features both the most memorable parts of the history it’s imparting on visitors, as well as untold, behind-the-scenes stories that every moto history nerd loves to experience. Multiple eras of the Dakar Rally are represented, from the Paris-Dakar years to the South America years, not to mention the current era in Saudi Arabia.
Bikes and stories from KTM legends including Heinz Kinigadner, Fabrizio Meoni, Marc Coma, Matthias Walkner, Toby Price, and Kevin Benavides are all on proud display for visitors to enjoy up close and in person. Fabrizio Meoni took that very first Team Orange win back in 2001, and since that time, KTM Factory riders have managed to scoop up 19 victories—including the most recent one courtesy of Kevin Benavides in 2023.
15Photos
“Winning this year‘s Dakar was really the best feeling of my life. And now, to be a part of KTM‘s Legends of the Dakar makes me very proud. I am still overwhelmed, it‘s amazing,” Benavides said in a statement.
“There is no other race like it, and no feeling like winning it. I am so proud to have been an Austrian rider, on an Austrian bike with an Austrian sponsor and it is really cool that the KTM Motohall is telling these stories – especially those ones in history that we did not always get to know about in detail,” added 2018 Dakar winner Matthias Walkner.
“To talk about the history of KTM and the Dakar really makes me a bit proud. Back when I started in 1994, I could not believe the media coverage – it was so much more than I got for my world titles, and I knew it could be good for the brand. While the style and professionalism of racing has changed since then, the fundamentals of the race remain the same. It’s a big adventure,” said Heinz Kinigadner.
“There is no bigger adventure than the Dakar; the momentum and motivation it provided us back in those early years, which proved to be pivotal in the promotion of the KTM name and development of our motorcycles, has never wavered,” Pierer Mobility AG CEO Stefan Pierer added.
If you’re planning to attend, the KTM Motohall is open from Wednesday to Sunday each week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. Starting on July 1, 2023, the Museum moves to its summer hours, which means that it will be open from Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except for national holidays.
Tickets are available online via the KTM Motohall official website, which we’ll link to in our Sources for easy access. Children under the age of 14 get in free with paying adults. Adult day passes are 13 Euros (about $14.24 at the time of writing on June 16, 2023).
Discounted tickets are available for high school students over the age of 14, college students, senior citizens, disabled visitors, and groups of 10 or more. The cost for those discounted tickets is 9.10 Euros (about $10). Additionally, family passes are available at a cost of 28 Euros (about $31) for families of two adults and up to three children, but those must be purchased in person at the KTM Motohall and cannot be purchased online. Guided tours, audio guides, and more are also available for additional charges via the KTM Motohall website.
Logan Densmore wrote the story, and Mack Faint took the photos.
Grant Baylor won the NE PRO1 class and all 5 sections in the race after the 6th section was cancelled due to lightning and heavy rain. He took home an extra $1000 in James’ name.
The weather at the 57th annual Cherokee National Enduro, which is typically hot and humid, was cooler and drier this year. The event was dedicated to James Bransford, the longest-serving member of the Cherokee Enduro Riders club who passed away last fall. James had put in countless hours in the woods of Greensboro, GA, making it possible for many of the Cherokee Enduros to
Unlock Your Automotive Passion and Explore the Road Ahead
