Landshark!

LANDSHARK!

HAVING GONE HEAD TO head in the race for the 1996 European Super-mono Championship, Brook Henry and Kensei Sato could have developed a deep-seated hatred for one another. Instead, they developed a mutual admiration. As a result, their two companies-Vee Two Engineering of Australia and Over Racing of Japan, respectively-are teaming up to construct a sportbike that capitalizes on each firm’s strengths.

“The tie-up between us and Over makes all the sense in the world,” says Henry. “We’re engine specialists, not chassis designers. Now, thanks to linking up with Over, we can do the same thing for the beltdrive two-valve desmos as we did for the older bevel-drive engines with our Alchemy.”

The bike, to be called the Squalo (Italian for “shark”) will combine Vee Two’s 944cc version of the two-valve Ducati 900SS motor with Over’s trademark oval-section alloy tubular spaceframe, fitted with WP rising-rate rear suspension and up-

side-down forks. It will be clothed in dramatic bodywork styled by British designer John Keogh (whose working drawing is reproduced here). A racing version will be produced first, followed in due course by a streetbike, both of which are presently being completed in Vee Two’s factory in Perth, Australia.

Vee Two’s extensive range of tuning options for the 900SS motor naturally will also be available for the Squalo, up to and including the company’s new sequential fuel-injection package, developed in conjunction with Australian EFI specialist Motee. Guess that means this shark won’t be short on teeth. -Alan Cathcart