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Blake
| | Posted on Monday, January 29, 2007 - 10:35 pm: | 
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From www.MotoGP.com:
Hayden confident that Honda can "answer the bell"
MotoGP 29/01/07
"The first test out of the New Year didn’t go silky smooth for
us, but we got a point to start from," commented Hayden. "It’s
clear that our rivals were strong and that we were on the back
foot a little, but if there is one company that can answer the
bell then it’s the boys at HRC."
"The bike, for being a new model, isn’t so bad, but its so
different that it will take time to understand and work out the
kinks," said the World Champion, who identified specific
problems with the RC212V. "It is clear that the fairing is just
too small for me, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see
that we have some work to do in the wind tunnel to sort things
out for a bigger rider like myself."
With many predicting the new 800cc machines favouring
former 250cc riders, including Hayden’s team-mate Dani
Pedrosa, over riders like the American, the Kentucky Kid had a
few words for the doubters.
"The boys are motivated to retain our crown. On a personal
level I felt better on the 800cc this time around. I know a lot of
people are saying that because I have no 250cc experience and
I’m a bigger rider that I won’t be able to adapt….I suppose only
time will tell if these armchair experts have got that one right.
I’m looking forward to heading to Australia to test at one of my
favourite tracks this week." |
Rocketman
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 06:31 am: |
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Recent history in GP racing shows Honda will not let just one me be the focus of their attention. It seems pretty obvious to me this will be the year they focus hard on getting Pedrosa to the top and it would not surprise me in the least if they treat him more important or at least equal to Hayden this season.
Given last years Topsy turvy championship and Hayden's 'run of bad luck' in getting the job done, Honda will most definitely not sink all their eggs in one basket.
That said, nothing short of a miracle will stop Rossi this year. His motivation is never a question, but not taking the title home for two years on the trot will be absolutely a big no no for Rossi.
Rocket |
Blake
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 01:11 pm: |
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Well it certainly seems obvious from Nick's comments that HRC is definitely favoring the diminutive Pedrosa. I think Dani will need all the help he can get. I have the impression that his small stature presents a major challenge for him in getting the big bike to handle around the more challenging tracks, especially for the full length of a race. |
Rocketman
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 04:09 pm: |
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I don't assume there'll be a problem for Pedrosa handling the 800 if he can win on a 990. But those twisty tracks might be the tougher ones for him.
I do like Pedrosa as a person. I think he's been much undermined because of his quietness. That and the crash where he knocked Hayden off didn't help, obviously, but I think for a young man his age he certainly is world class and more than capable of winning the title. So I hope the pressure he might receive from outside because of the above will not hinder him in his challenge for the title. Yes I would like to see Hayden winning too.
Rocket |
Blake
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 05:09 pm: |
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"But those twisty tracks might be the tougher ones for him. "
S'what I mean. He's too tiny to handle the bike for a full race on the more rigorously physical tracks. Last year's results seemed to reveal that issue. |
Blake
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 07:32 pm: |
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And now some insight from Phillip Island:
Hayden shows dedication of a champion at
Phillip Island
MotoGP 30/01/07
World Champion Nicky Hayden made a strong start to the
Phillip Island test by placing fourth on the timesheets at the
end of day one. The American continues his comeback from
shoulder surgery and, although still trying to rebuild strength,
still managed to beat his fastest race lap at the Australian track
by over two tenths of a second.
Hayden’s lap of 1’31.18 will be encouraging for Honda, who
have yet to top the timesheets in 2007. At a track where
Ducati are traditionally fast, having riders Marco Melandri, the
Kentucky Kid and team-mate Dani Pedrosa all in the top five is
nothing to be sniffed at. Hayden had previously expressed his
concern about the size of the bike, and had acknowledged that
the factory were “a little behind at the moment.”
As always, Hayden was relentless in his quest to adapt the bike
to his liking. With 81 laps of the Australian track under his belt,
the champ was the busiest rider of the day. Rain at 4pm drew
the session to an early conclusion, although “Trick Daddy” still
has two further days at his disposal.
“We got in a pretty full day of testing today, working mainly on
settings and trying to improve the bike geometry-wise. We
were also confirming some of the things I liked from the test in
Malaysia last week and checking they work on a totally
different track under totally different conditions,” commented
the 25 year old. “The new 800cc bike is pretty fun to ride here
- in a few of these corners you carry some serious speed. We
realise we’ve got some work still to do but the bike feels a bit
better here. We were cut short by the rain but we dodged a
bullet because it looked like it could have rained a lot earlier.
And we got a lot of data today for the boys to analyse – so
we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
From www.motogp.com |
Jimidan
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 09:10 pm: |
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So much for going to the smaller displacement to slow the bikes down...
jimidan |
Blake
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 11:52 pm: |
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yes but consider if the displacement had remained at 990cc; the lap times would have dropped significantly as they have been dropping every year prior. As it is, the 800cc limit has attenuated that trend, temporarily at least, so the new smaller displacement limit has indeed slowed the increase of the pace a bit.
I agree though, not very much. Which is cool.  |
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