| Author | Message | ||
     Blake |
The Aprilia is failing to impress as predicted by some. Or maybe Edwards is just that much better of a development rider. Pretty amazing how far he's come on his CRT machine. At least it doesn't look like most of the CRT machines will be getting lapped. Ellison will though unless he doesn't get his lap time deficit below 5.4 seconds or so. | ||
| Rasta_dog |
Hey, I thought Hayden & Spies were from that 2nd rate, watered down, American Superstockbike series that some know-it-all British blow hards love to ridicule? How are they managing to run faster lap times than all but two of all the other riders from those great motorcycle racing countries of the world? | ||
| Jaimec |
That's pretty much it in a nutshell. Edwards has generally been regarded as one of the best development riders in MotoGP, second only to some Italian guy... | ||
| Jaimec |
Rasta: Hayden and Spies left AMA SBK before it degenerated to "American Superstock Bike."  They also left after beating the undisputed king of AMA SBK (Hayden once, Spies three years in a row). | ||
| 46champ |
How much difference is there now between American Superbike and British Superbike Evo class? | ||
| Crusty |
Hayden and Spies left AMA SBK before it degenerated to "American Superstock Bike." Yeah, the good old days; when Suzuki could run illegal crankshafts without getting caught. Spies managed to get out just before the manufacturers lost a lot of their ability to dictate which bikes would own what category. That way, they all could "win on Sunday to sell on Monday" It's kind of a shame that so many really good riders got screwed by the Big Four's greed. | ||
| Rasta_dog |
I was purposely being over the top simply because, when it comes to all types of competition, I rarely see any rational objectivity. More often you see people go to great lengths to explain away the accomplishments of others if it doesn't suit their view, which bothers me. | ||
| Bads1 |
Day two. http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?artic le=47825 | ||
| Firstbuell |
post practices, pre-qualifying - so will it be mini-clumps o'riders in MotoGP Q, & the race? 99 chasing 1 Tech 3 pair & Ben & Pedro Ducati factory duo & Barbera Bradl & Bautista Karel, Colin, & RdP the rest...... in some ways, what's really new? - the 4 Yamahas disrupt HRC dominance, with the Ducatis lagging behind [but ahead of the CRTs......] | ||
| Jaimec |
Edwards seems to be getting better and better with the Suter CRT. He's the fastest CRT rider right now, despite the pre-season talk of the ART dominance. Those Kawasaki CRTs though... OUCH!! Maybe the riders should affix a fluorescent orange triangle to their leathers before the race? | ||
| Firstbuell |
the Kawasaki CRTs - which are they? | ||
| Jaimec |
Ah! Found a "Score Card" online: http://caberz.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/2012-moto-g p-crt-bikes/ | ||
| Rhun |
I bet it is not Easter Sunday in Qatar.  | ||
| Simond |
There were some interesting comments on the Eurosport coverage that suggested that the ART bikes are actually 20hp down on the World Superbike RSV4s because of the fact that they can only use 12 engines in the season. Apparently Max used 28 engines for 26 races last year! I think that the PBR bike had barely turned a wheel before the Qatar practise sessions but Ellison, while very competent, is not exactly a top rider.........neither is he alone in that respect among the CRT riders. Quite a few riders were completing the first couple of practise sessions on a single set of tyres - notably Rossi and Crutchlow. Others were slinging a new and/or soft tyre in at the end of a session to set a quick lap. Only tonight's session will tell where everyone really is. The Tech3 bikes look quick but then they always do at he beginning of the season before the factory bikes are developed further. Stoner set his time in the last session on an old hard tyre. | ||
| Crusty |
Lorenzo is on the pole. Stoner's second, Crutchlow third and Spies fourth. The race should be interesting. | ||
| Spectrum |
What are the red and green LED lights on the riders left sleeves for? | ||
| Simond |
They show the condition of the airbag. Green light is ready, flashing green it has gone off, red and it is not ready. Impressive performances from Crutchlow and Hayden but Lorenzo looks good for the race to me. Spies was fortunate not to get caught up in his bike when he fell. Thankfully all crashers got back up - the ARTs all seemed to be going down in a very similar way by tucking the front. | ||
| Bads1 |
What the heck is going on with Rossi..... 12th???? | ||
| Jaimec |
I tell you what... with the exception of Stoner, those new Hondas don't seem to be all that impressive this year. Top six is FOUR Yamahas (all of them), one Ducati (Hayden) and Stoner on the only Honda in the first two rows. Speaking of the Yamahas, you probably don't want to get too close to Lorenzo unless you want to get burned:  | ||
| Jaimec |
Matt will likely disagree (again) but... that was an EXCITING race! Don't know if it's the 1000cc engines, or the softer tires, but it's already looking like the 1000cc era will be MUCH MUCH better than the 800s. Only one comment: "Elbowz!! WTF???" | ||
| Smoke4ndmears |
That was a pretty good race. Several good battles for position and a great scuffle up front. If the gap to front compresses this will be a great season. Unfortunately, that is a big gap! | ||
| Simond |
Not bad but, as usual, Moto2 was fantastic. Marquez' move on Luthi was unnecessary and less than impressive. I see he hasn't let his actions in Philip Island last year temper his aggression. I'm sure Spies will be back up there at the next race but surely Stoner's reluctance to do long practice runs and test sessions must have something to do with having "surprise" arm pump problems the first time he does a race distance this year. (Message edited by SimonD on April 10, 2012) | ||
| Notpurples2 |
What the heck is going on with Rossi..... 12th???? Really, I know the Ducati has issues but he's on the same bike as Hayden who is kickin' his ass. | ||
| Jaimec |
Nicky has the same flat-track background as Stoner, so he's familiar with steering the bike with the rear wheel (and the 1000s make this easier than the 800s). Rossi never did flat track, so he's at a disadvantage till he can get a handle on the lack of feel at the front, I think. | ||
| Bads1 |
Jaimec, I don't know if I can agree with Rossi not knowing how to steer with the rear. That was brought into the 2 stroke era by Roberts,Rainey,and the like. It worked for them but the challengers did learn to do it. Rossi being one of those riders. He isn't from the electronics era like Stoner is in any fashion. | ||
| Svh |
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98678 Strong words from Rossi on the GP12. | ||
| Bads1 |
I read that Sam but quite frankly some of the same was said on RRW site. Thing is the site you gave link to it seems they added quite a bit more to Valentino's statement's and maybe its not correct??? | ||
| Svh |
Could be. More than likely Ducati edited his statements for the press releases that RRW puts up. I don't think they would be/are very happy with what he said. | ||
| Rasta_dog |
I don't recall anyone predicting that top 5. I loved all the coverage of the different battles for position, especially the fight within the Tech 3 Yamaha team. Their new black livery under the lights in Qtar was visually kick ass. | ||
| Trojan |
Matt will likely disagree (again) but... that was an EXCITING race! Don't know if it's the 1000cc engines, or the softer tires, but it's already looking like the 1000cc era will be MUCH MUCH better than the 800s. Half way into the race I was about to mentally switch off, but then Lorenzo started to claw back the advantage and it actually turned into a good race (although not as good as the Moto2 race of course!). What is clear is that the same teams/riders who were at the front in 800cc MotoGP will be at the front now, and that the gap to the others is still about the same. I don't think this necessarily means we will get more exciting races this year than last year, and I don't expect them all to be this close. Stoner certainly suffered from a lack of race distance testing, and arm pump really shouldn't be an issue with riders at this level if they are race fit. Crutchlow rode really well, and I was glad to see him beat Dovi to 4th place. Always important to beat your team mate! Spies looked uncomfortable all weekend, and after the crashes he suffered in practice was brave just to race I think. There is some suggestion that the mood in the Yamaha camp has turned a bit colder towards Ben this year, and it is no secret that his job is up for grabs if he doesn't win races this year, so maybe the pressure is starting to tell already? Rossi seemed completely lost all weekend, trying hugely different setups in pretty much every session. In the warm up he went out on a bike with Haydens settings and then in the race changed again, so effectively every time he goes on track he is riding a new bike  I can't see him lasting the season unless they can give him a better bike. He has nothing to prove by running around in 10th place all year. Hayden got a good result but I think it looked better than it actually was, and the Ducati still needs a lot of work. Bradl fell back to the group that Hayden was racing with rather than them catching him, and Hayden was in a race long battle with Barbera on the previous incarnation of the GP11.1, so little improvement at Bologna methinks Rossi never did flat track, so he's at a disadvantage till he can get a handle on the lack of feel at the front, I think. Rossi has been in GP long enough to know how to rear wheel steer when he has to. When he raced the 500 2 strokes he drifted with the best of them. However he is more comfortable with a 250 style and likes his bikes setup like a larger version of a 250 so he can run higher corner speeds. The current Ducati just doesn't seem to react regardless of setting used, and changes hugely with tyre wear during the race. hayden hardly 'kicked his arse' and was only a few seconds up the road from Rossi at the flag. The truth is that the GP12 doesn't work and all the messing around with different chassis hasn't changed that. The CRT bikes certainly didn't disgrace themselves, and added a new dimension into the race within a race that I enjoyed. Watching Edwards catching Spies towards the end was like watching Jaws, and I'm sure that Colin would have loved to beat a factory bike first time out (regardless of Bens problems and lack of pace on race day). Hopefully we will see a good competiton all year between the CRT bikes and the bottom half of the factory sataellite teams. On slower tracks it should be a lot closer than at Qatar Moto2 was a great race (again) although Marquez really should have been penalised for his dangerous riding. Not just against Luthi, who he ran off track on the final lap, but also against Iannone ealier in the race when he pulled the most dangerous move I have seen for years and almost took them both out on the main straight at 170mph+! Marquez is a talented and fast rider, but he needs to reign it in a little if he is to survive into MotoGP thats for sure. A 5 second penalty would have seemed correct for his moves, based on what other riders have previously got for similar bad riding. |
