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Post by colinlinz on Feb 1, 2012 10:02:21 GMT 10
The first real test of the season see's Rossi very happy with the new Ducati, and Stoner not riding because of an aggravated back injury he set off when stretching in the morning. They will be testing again tomorrow, this time with Stoner.
1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 1.657s (Lap 19/30) 2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 2m 2.003s (44/48) 3. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 2.221s (26/32) 4. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 2.234s (28/28) 5. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team 2m 2.392s (37/43) 6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 2.751s (16/20) 7. Hector Barbera ESP Pramac Racing 2m 2.773s (24/41) 8. Katsuyuki Nakasuga JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2m 2.829s (29/32) 9. Alvaro Bautista ESP San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m 2.869s (44/45) 10. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team 2m 3.151s (25/33) 11. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda 2m 3.668s (28/44) 12. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 2m 3.781s (36/45) 13. Franco Battaini ITA Ducati Test Rider 2m 4.986s (20/35) 14. Kousuke Akiyoshi JPN Repsol Honda 2m 7.163s (1/4) 15. Colin Edwards USA Forward Racing (Suter-BMW CRT) 2m 8.240s (12/21) 16. Jordi Torres ESP Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 2m 10.671s (38/42) 17. Ivan Silva ESP Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 2m 11.267s (12/12)
So it looks like there will be a lot of riders being lapped in the early races, hopefully they can improve during the year to mount some level of competitiveness.
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bluestorm04
The Hedge
2012 GSX1300R + 2007 GSX-R1000
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Post by bluestorm04 on Feb 1, 2012 12:55:41 GMT 10
I read with interest Rossi's comments about the new incarnation of the Ducati and he seems quietly confident they are finally heading in the right direction. He stated that he can brake and take entry lines where he wants and the new frame allows for rapid changes of direction which was lacking on the 2011 bike. His comments did seem to indicate that perhaps Ducati have taken a quantum leap over the off season and that maybe they can provide machinery capable of running closer to the front of the field. For the good of the class, lets hope so.
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 1, 2012 13:17:15 GMT 10
They would want to have. They have yet another new frame, this time a full delta box or twin spar. They have a different engine so that they can get more weight over the front. Interestingly though, at this initial stage, it doesn't look like it has done much good for Hayden. It will be interesting to see if he makes good improvements on it as he settles into it and recovers from his off season crash. A lot of bike performance comes from the mind, I'm wondering how much Rossi's improvements stem from his head and how much is a result of the bike.
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 1, 2012 16:31:50 GMT 10
The last session times. This time with Stoner.
HRC executive vice president Nakamoto san, has made some comments regarding the CRT bikes. Basically he thinks their performance level is too low. He puts this down to not only the bikes, but also the calibre of riders the class attracts. He went on to say that HRC don't mind the CRT class and that they would negotiate the supply of motogp bikes for a reduced price (as per Dorna's request); he also explains that the GFC is hard on everyone, including Honda, but Honda have no interest in competing in a CRT based championship. This is understandable, as there is no value adding for them. A CRT championship would purely be a marketing exercise, while motogp offers the marketing benefits, as well as the scope to evaluate and test new technology and ideas.
1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 1.052s (Lap 14/20) 2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 1.144s (3/26) 3. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda 2m 1.245s (8/16) 4. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 2m 1.638s (3/15) 5. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 1.710s (4/24) 6. Alvaro Bautista ESP San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m 2.065s (16/17) 7. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team 2m 2.354s (2/14) 8. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team 2m 2.400s (3/23) 9. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda 2m 2.414s (9/12) 10. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 2.506s (8/18) 11. Hector Barbera ESP Pramac Racing 2m 2.597s (7/27) 12. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 2m 3.050s (7/39) 13. Katsuyuki Nakasuga JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2m 3.323s (7/17) 14. Franco Battaini ITA Ducati Test Rider 2m 4.663s (9/21) 15. Colin Edwards USA Forward Racing (Suter-BMW CRT) 2m 6.819s (11/11) 16. Ivan Silva ESP Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 2m 10.297s (8/9) 17. Robertino Pietri VEN Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 2m 12.546s (4/5)
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 1, 2012 21:41:18 GMT 10
Last block of test times.
1. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda 2m 0.895s (Lap 19/23) 2. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 1.052s (14/32) 3. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 1.068s (34/34) 4. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 1.565s (32/34) 5. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 2m 1.566s (23/24) 6. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team 2m 1.886s (30/35) 7. Alvaro Bautista ESP San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m 2.065s (16/33) 8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 2.160s (37/42) 9. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team 2m 2.354s (2/41) 10. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda 2m 2.414s (9/41) 11. Hector Barbera ESP Pramac Racing 2m 2.433s (32/42) 12. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 2m 2.598s (52/52) 13. Katsuyuki Nakasuga JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2m 2.941s (24/35) 14. Franco Battaini ITA Ducati Test Rider 2m 4.311s (29/30) 15. Colin Edwards USA Forward Racing (Suter-BMW CRT) 2m 5.603s (30/30) 16. Ivan Silva ESP Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 2m 10.297s (8/16) 17. Robertino Pietri VEN Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 2m 12.546s (4/5)
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smokey
Honourable Member
2001 SP1
Posts: 788
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Post by smokey on Feb 1, 2012 22:29:13 GMT 10
In fairness to Hayden he is riding injured, fingers crossed the Yamacati works as the more bikes up front the better. Also the Aprilia CRT bike is testing at Valencia and is allot closer to the prototype times.
Bring on the racing.
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 2, 2012 8:30:27 GMT 10
In fairness to Hayden he is riding injured, fingers crossed the Yamacati works as the more bikes up front the better. Also the Aprilia CRT bike is testing at Valencia and is allot closer to the prototype times. Bring on the racing. I believe that some of the other bikes had already been to Valencia and they too were closer to the motogp times. But at this track they are now considerably slower. We will just have to wait until they have been to a few tracks before we can see what the real difference will be.
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shayne
Omnipresent
1998 Blueprint
Posts: 8,639
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Post by shayne on Feb 2, 2012 9:06:05 GMT 10
Yep, bring on the racing.
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smokey
Honourable Member
2001 SP1
Posts: 788
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Post by smokey on Feb 2, 2012 14:23:21 GMT 10
In fairness to Hayden he is riding injured, fingers crossed the Yamacati works as the more bikes up front the better. Also the Aprilia CRT bike is testing at Valencia and is allot closer to the prototype times. Bring on the racing. I believe that some of the other bikes had already been to Valencia and they too were closer to the motogp times. But at this track they are now considerably slower. We will just have to wait until they have been to a few tracks before we can see what the real difference will be. It really depends on whos CRT your talking about, the Avintia Racing bikes are using kawasaki engines and they are very slow, the Aprilia is the factory super bike with different forks and swing arm to suite the bridgestone tires, it is fast, the foward racing suter bmw is somewhere in between. Early days though.
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Post by brent on Feb 2, 2012 17:14:38 GMT 10
you can hardly call rossis bike a ducati any more ,has been changed that much it will end up looking like his yamaha of old rear swingarm etc all starting to resemble jap factory bikes
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 2, 2012 23:34:19 GMT 10
Stoner smashed the official 800 lap record on his second lap this session. This is best summed up by Lorenzo's comment. “Casey is fast with whatever they give to him,” smiled Lorenzo, who set his own personal best Sepang lap. “
1. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda 1m 59.607s (Lap 2/21) 2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 0.198s (18/35) 3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 2m 0.256s (3/26) 4. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 2m 0.495s (15/16) 5. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team 2m 0.824s (11/42) 6. Hector Barbera ESP Pramac Racing 2m 0.929s (6/40) 7. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 1.108s (2/26) 8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 1.257s (10/40) 9. Alvaro Bautista ESP San Carlo Honda Gresini 2m 1.384s (8/34) 10. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team 2m 1.729s (8/19) 11. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda 2m 1.894s (6/38) 12. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 2m 2.218s (5/38) 13. Katsuyuki Nakasuga JPN Yamaha Test Rider 2m 2.334s (2/27) 14. Franco Battaini ITA Ducati Test Rider 2m 3.033s (9/35) 15. Colin Edwards USA Forward Racing (Suter-BMW CRT) 2m 4.722s (18/36) 16. Ivan Silva ESP Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 2m 8.225s (26/41) 17. Robertino Pietri VEN Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 2m 9.640s (10/16) 18. Jordi Torres ESP Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 2m 10.184s (16/29)
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shayne
Omnipresent
1998 Blueprint
Posts: 8,639
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Post by shayne on Feb 3, 2012 7:50:32 GMT 10
Here is a random thought. At the start of every year I always have great anticipation for the coming season of motorsport. Unlike other sports such as footy, motorsport has that technical aspect that means you never really know what is going to happen that first race. Who is going to turn up with the best mousetrap? I remeber an F1 season some years ago. Fisrt race in Melbourne was due, and everyone was waiting to see how the cards fell. At the start of practice, McClaren had the advantage, as they clearly had the fastest car that year. This is a sport where a second a lap is an absolutely dominant display. McClaren were 6 seconds faster than the third placed car. It was total domination like I have not seen in my lifetime. It was incredibel to see, and I shall never forget it. WRC this year is an unknown too. All new cars mean that anything is possible. (Please no-one look on the net to post up results, I Like to watch it on the telly before I know who won. I think it is on this week.) But what is with the bikes? ?? At the end of last season, I think pretty much all of us were resigned to the fact that it will be Stoner, Lorenzo & maybe Pedrose if he has a good day, that will be up the front again this year. The variation has gone I think. I dunno where it went. This year we have a new engine format, and yet it remains the same. Fingers crossed we see some good racing this year in the top class. I am sure Moto2 will be good again. Hmmmmmmmmmm.............. maybe if MotoGP bikes all had the same engine..........
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 3, 2012 9:23:26 GMT 10
I don't think it so cut and dry Shayne. As Rossi remarked yesterday, 5th fastest isn't so good, but the times are very close to the other bikes, it is only Stoner that is much faster.
There will no doubt be a few fast bikes and this will be compounded by the CRT bikes as well as the missing suzuki team. Last year there was no real dominant bike. The Honda's and Yamaha's were both quick, the only domination was rider related not bike. If Stoner wasn't in it, then a Yamaha would have won.
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Seanus
Admin1
2007 - CBR1000RR
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Post by Seanus on Feb 3, 2012 13:39:00 GMT 10
I think the start of this season is looking more promising that the last. Having said that there is no doubt in my mind that Stoner is the Sebastian Vettel of MotoGP. Is that a bad thing? Maybe. But lets enjoy it while it lasts.
While these tests are interesting there is still 2 months until the season starts and what these tests also don't show is how the bike handles race conditions. Remember there were a few times last year where Stoner would fall back through the field because his tyres were completely borked.
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 3, 2012 17:17:33 GMT 10
Ducati have confirmed in a story from AMCN that they have absolutely no interest in competing in a motogp series that limits their technological experimentation. The only reason they are there is to develop their ideas and skills as engineers. They go on to say that being a European company, they are very much aware of the financial challenges, and are willing to look at ways of controlling these. One area they are particularly against is the move to limit software and electronics. They don't mind using a production ECU, but they do want freedom of software.
I would also expect them to very much against the modest RPM limits that Dorna want to impose. This would be entirely understandable, after all, why should they be penalised for having a standard valve system that can do what other teams need to do with expensive specialised pneumatic valve trains.
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smokey
Honourable Member
2001 SP1
Posts: 788
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Post by smokey on Feb 3, 2012 20:54:45 GMT 10
But Ducati scrapped there own innovative thinking and went to an FTR twin spar frame and changed the swingarm to the Japanese style bracing at the bottom, my point being they're not really being that innovative anymore.
Also I noticed that Gresini have gone back to showa suspension on all there bikes this year
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 3, 2012 21:31:15 GMT 10
That's true enough Chris, but this is likely to be an offshoot of the already restrictive rules. Just the control tyre rule alone means that all the bikes have to use frames with the same stiffness ratios, weight distribution, and cornering styles and lines. One of the main freedoms and technical importance is the electrics and software. These are areas that Ducati have been very strong in and have rapidly deployed to their production bikes. These are also one of the areas that Dorna want to standardise and control. As it is, their new Panigale uses a lot of technology that has directly come from their motogp experience.
It is also important to remember it isn't only Ducati that feel this way, Honda also have stated they are not interested in competing in a watered down production based series. Their reasoning is identical to Ducati, they want the freedom to examine and develop ideas. After all, without this, the only advantage for them is marketing and they can do that with WSBK's.
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smokey
Honourable Member
2001 SP1
Posts: 788
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Post by smokey on Feb 3, 2012 21:44:57 GMT 10
I've thought about the spec tire thing abit, why doesn't it seem to dictate the type of bikes that work in WSBK if you know what I mean...
Also all the prototypes run magneti marelli fuel injection, ohlins forks and shocks (2012 gresini aside) and brembo brakes, Which leads me to another question, if I lease a Honda RC213 does it come with forks and shock? or do I have to get them from ohlins (not that I'm planning a satalite squad)
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rowanb
Regular Member
Posts: 139
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Post by rowanb on Feb 3, 2012 22:37:25 GMT 10
This is not SBKs I want to see inovation, however I also understand the financial costs etc to race at this level. If Ducati win with this frame (Yamaha?) engine combo and it gets passed down the line is this a bad thing? I personally like the CRT thing, even though it kinda goes against my opening statement, I like to see packed grids and close racing. Passing lapped riders can sometimes equal great racing. Bring on round One.
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 3, 2012 23:27:01 GMT 10
I've thought about the spec tire thing abit, why doesn't it seem to dictate the type of bikes that work in WSBK if you know what I mean... Also all the prototypes run magneti marelli fuel injection, ohlins forks and shocks (2012 gresini aside) and brembo brakes, Which leads me to another question, if I lease a Honda RC213 does it come with forks and shock? or do I have to get them from ohlins (not that I'm planning a satalite squad) WSBK's is a different kettle of fish. They have rules that effectively act as a sort of handicap system, also the bikes are based on their road versions and therefore locked into the road version basic design. The tyres that come standard on road bikes are often specifically designed for that model. They maybe marked as a Pilot Pure or some other make and model tyre, but the tyres construction isn't the same as the regular Pilot Pure you would buy. Although these tyres are available as a genuine Honda, Suzuki, ect part. In the case of Ducati, they are happy to run a control ECU. But they want to retain the power to write their own software. Magneti Marelli only supplied them the ECU's, the programming strategies and mapping of them was done by Ducati and was kept secret from Magneti Marelli. As for Ohlins saturation on the grid, I think this is mainly because of the support they offer the teams. Each team has their own Ohlins factory suspension tech, supplied by Ohins. This might be completely different if the teams were allowed to use and develop alternative front suspension design. At the moment, the standard design is at its limits of development and it takes a lot of R&D to gain any small advantage. This puts Ohlins in the box seat because they are a big company and only focus on suspension R&D.
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 3, 2012 23:38:42 GMT 10
This is not SBKs I want to see inovation, however I also understand the financial costs etc to race at this level. If Ducati win with this frame (Yamaha?) engine combo and it gets passed down the line is this a bad thing? I personally like the CRT thing, even though it kinda goes against my opening statement, I like to see packed grids and close racing. Passing lapped riders can sometimes equal great racing. Bring on round One. I realise I'm out of step with most people, but I don't watch MotoGP for close racing. I watch it because I want to see what the best riders in the world can do on the best and most advanced bikes in the world. I love the behind the scenes technology that prototype racing has. Once it moves to control bikes and severely limited technological development it will have limited attraction for me. I would enjoy it as much as a 250 proddy race, or any other control series. That isn't meant to sound disparaging of these series, just that once MotoGP gets to that level, it will be nothing special anymore.
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smokey
Honourable Member
2001 SP1
Posts: 788
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Post by smokey on Feb 4, 2012 7:46:18 GMT 10
With my WSBK call I was really saying that the Pirelli control tire seems to work for a number of different brands / engine / frame configuration, this doesn't seem to be the case with the Bridgestones. In GP I think that having multiple tire manufacturers on the grid would be the best result, Ducati could have continued with there innovation and worked to develop a tire that would work with it. I agree with the Ohlins call, I guess gresini had a go on the new blade with the showa big piston forks and thought "they might go ok on the GP bike"
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shayne
Omnipresent
1998 Blueprint
Posts: 8,639
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Post by shayne on Feb 4, 2012 8:35:54 GMT 10
In regards to tyres and chassis design, I recall an interview with a prominent chassis designer. May have been Nikko Bakker. His comment on tyres was that unless the designer knows what tyres the bike will use, he cannot even start the design process. He must know the tyres before he can begin, such is their importance in the design.
To an extent I am wilth Colin, I like to see design, and development. This sometimes produces a dominant machine and boring racing, but not always.
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 4, 2012 9:50:50 GMT 10
When Stoner and Ducati went to Bridgstone originally, the tyre change fixed most of their front end problems. The trouble was that when Bridgstone became the control tyre, the other bikes didn't like them as much. Yamaha and Rossi had quite a few problems. The two different designs of bikes required different properties from their tyres. The power of Rossi and the Japanese factories forced Bridgestone to produce a tyre that worked for them, unfortunately it seemed to be a backward step for Ducati. I don't believe their stressed member CF frame was a dud idea, just that it didn't suit the constraints dictated by the limited scope of technical rules.
Ducati and Honda both are happy to compromise on this and accept so control measures, but both need to have a level of technological freedom to be able to try ideas. Ducati seem to feel their benefit is in the development of the electronics, while both Honda and Ducati have been experimenting with totally new gearbox technology. Yamaha isn't really in a position to do anything much as they look like running without a sponsor for another year.
The reality is that Dorna do not want factory involvement in the race series. This is why they changed policy on their team support program. From now on Dorna will only help fund teams that use a CRT bike, any team that leases a prototype bike is now ineligible for financial assistance. Dorna see that there is a finite pool of money that the sport can attract. They want that money funnelled to them, not motorcycle companies. They don't have a history of acceptance of other people making money from the bike racing. This was one of their big gripes with Aprilia. Aprilia were using profits from the supply of their 250gp bikes to fund their WSBK racing.
So while Dorna will bang on about the GFC and the high costs, what they really want is just a bigger slice of the pie, and to wrestle more control away from the manufacturers. Personally, I see it as a big slap in the face, especially to Honda and Ducati. These two manufacturers have gone out of their way to provide bikes and grid numbers. They are both suffering severe economic circumstances, and they have both maintained their commitment while other teams have cut and run. It just doesn't feel like the right way to reward them for their efforts within the sport.
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 4, 2012 15:29:50 GMT 10
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rowanb
Regular Member
Posts: 139
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Post by rowanb on Feb 5, 2012 14:01:37 GMT 10
I like to see bar banging and rubbing in racing, otherwise isnt it it just testing and tuning? I agree with colinlinz there is only a small pool of sponsorship dollars and DORMA wants it all. Probably one of the reasons Suzuki Kawasaki and others cannot afford to produce a GP bike so they put their R&D into WSBK. I want Stoner up front again make no mistake about it, but I want to see Rossi and the rest .0000000008 secs behind him.
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 7, 2012 21:14:33 GMT 10
For everyone that was wondering what all the fuss and confusion was about the minimum weight, here is an explanation.
Late last year, the proposed minimum weight for 2012 MotoGP machines changed twice in the space of six weeks.
After a meeting of the Grand Prix Commission at the Valencia season finale on November 5 it was announced that the minimum weight for the new 1000cc bikes would be 153kg (three kg more than for the previous 800cc bikes).
However, this figure then rose to 157kg after the next Grand Prix Commission meeting on December 14.
Honda seems to be among the most surprised by December's additional 4kg and the factory's reigning world champion Casey Stoner made his views clear during a post-Sepang Q&A with title sponsor Repsol (see separate story).
"It is rather frustrating. We already had the bike developed and then they decided to change the regulations, so we had to add 4kg to the weight of our bike," he said. "This is a disadvantage for us, because the bike was already developed with a specific weight in mind, and now we have to add more.
"This affects the bike. It isn't something that you notice much in your general riding, but unfortunately you do feel it quite a bit mid-corner. We have to try to adapt a little more and overcome this, but it is disappointing that the decision was made so late on."
During the Sepang test, Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta explained why the additional 4kg rise had happened 'so late'.
It seems to have been caused by a 'misunderstanding' in the Grand Prix Commission, where decisions are made regarding MotoGP rule changes.
The Commission is composed of Dorna (commercial rights and event organisation), FIM (governing body), IRTA (teams) and MSMA (manufacturers), but the voting structure depends on the type of proposal being discussed.
"There was a proposal made by Dorna and IRTA, for the Valencia Grand Prix Commission meeting, to raise the minimum weight to 160kg," said Ezpeleta. "Because it was difficult and expensive for the CRT [privateer] bikes to reduce their weight. So if everybody is able to run the same minimum weight that would help CRT.
"We proposed the weight increase, but the MSMA said that the unanimous decision of the MSMA is against it. If the MSMA decision is unanimous [the Grand Prix Commission] cannot approve the rule, because it is a technical rule.
"Later on when the minutes arrived, [it turned out] that it was not unanimous. It was by majority. If the opposition of the MSMA is not unanimous we have no obligation to follow that.
"Then at the meeting of the Grand Prix Commission in December we said 'I'm sorry, the other day we had a misunderstanding about whether the MSMA decision was unanimous. I consider if it is not unanimous we have the right to impose that.'
"Finally instead of 160kg we requested 157kg [for 2012] and this was approved, by majority of the Grand Prix Commission."
MotoGP minimum weight will then rise to 160kg for 2013.
by Peter McLaren
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Post by colinlinz on Feb 7, 2012 21:26:43 GMT 10
I like to see bar banging and rubbing in racing, otherwise isnt it it just testing and tuning? I agree with colinlinz there is only a small pool of sponsorship dollars and DORMA wants it all. Probably one of the reasons Suzuki Kawasaki and others cannot afford to produce a GP bike so they put their R&D into WSBK. I want Stoner up front again make no mistake about it, but I want to see Rossi and the rest .0000000008 secs behind him. Fairing bashing is great, and there are a few race series that excel in this. Motogp has always been at a higher level though. Because of the quality of riders, machines, teams, and the high level of adjustability of the bikes; motogp has always allowed scope for riders to perform near miracles on the bikes. To be the fastest on any day requires the alignment of many more variables than the production classes. This is what appeals to me about motogp, and what makes it different to the other race series around. I love watching riders when they nail it and get everything working to near perfection. To me, without this, it is just another race series.
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Seanus
Admin1
2007 - CBR1000RR
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Post by Seanus on Feb 9, 2012 14:50:31 GMT 10
I tend to agree. Whilst it can be a bit boring (like F1 with Vettel last year) it's also about the technology. It's why there's a constructor's championship as well. You just hope that if the rest of the field get a good rogering that they'll come back next year all the stronger…
you hope.
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Post by Fozzy Bear on Feb 9, 2012 18:25:08 GMT 10
Just got back from the future and it turns out that 2012 is the second last year for MotoGP.
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