| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
I thought he was in discussions with one of the satellite Honda teams in MotoGP? | ||
| Trojan |
I thought he was in discussions with one of the satellite Honda teams in MotoGP? He was 'alledgedly' in discussions with Gresini and with JIR/Scot a few weeks ago, but his management have since started to hint that MotoGP may not be the target for 2009 any longer, and that he has offers in WSB as well. The JIR/Scot deal would seem a little shaky, as the two major parties (JIR & Scot) are parting company in 2009. Both sides say that they have individually secured funding and leased factory RCV212 bikes from Honda, but it is likely that only one will make it to the grid next year in MotoGP (the other may continue in 250GP as a separate team). In view of this internal trouble it is unlikely that they will secure a leading rider until the situation looks more stable. Ducati have already filled the 'B' team (currently Alice Ducati) by hiring Mika Kallio from 250GP and Nicola Canepa (currently in World Superstock and factory Ducati test rider). Kallio should be spectacular next year and will surprise a few people I think. Kawasaki have arranged a deal to run a third bike next year run by Jorge Martinez, but it is likely that they will want a Spanish (or at least Spanish speaking) rider in the all Spanish team. There is also a possibility of a 5th Ducati run in another separate Spanish team next year, and the likely candidate for that ride is Sete Gibernau. Gresini Honda have signed Toni Elias on a factory spec Honda for 2009, so the top rides all look to have been taken already, leaving Spies with very little chance of a decent team if he still wants MotoGP. In WSB the situation is almost as tight, with Biaggi signing to ride the new Aprilia V4 and Troy Corser almost certain to join Xaus at BMW there are very few top teams left with a spare seat. Ten Kate Honda have a wide choice of riders already under contract to the team, all of whom would be capable of running at the front in WSB. Yamaha have signed Tom Sykes from BSB so would probably prefer to sign an experienced WSB rider for the second slot in their team, and Ducati are fixed with Haga & Fabrizio, so SPies may be out of luck there too. It would appear that one of the major stumbling blocks in getting Ben Spies signed up isn't his abililty, but his mother! Apparently she is a bit 'over-protective' and handles his business matters with an iron fist. Maybe her overbearing negotiation skills have been the let down, and if that is the case then Ben needs to look at what needs to change to attract a top team for 2010. | ||
| Ebear |
Seems to have been a re-occuring theme in Ben's racing career.......hope it doesn't become his demise!! | ||
| Trojan |
Funnily enough, the US rider who seems to stand the best chance of a decent ride in WSB/WSS nextyear is Josh Hayes, who has cleverly signed a deal to ride the Parkalgar Honda for the remaining rounds of the WSS series this year. He is therefore in the prime position to be noticed when WSB/WSS team managers are looking to get riders for 2009, and has done well today to finish 13th in the wet at a new track. Hopefully he will do even better tomorrow. | ||
| Simond |
I really don't understand the Haga deal. While I love watching him, I'd rather see him on a four and his last spell on a Duc was less than spectacular. I really thought he would be the main opposition to Bayliss this year after such a strong finish to 2007. Given the wide choice of riders they must have had I just don't get it - particularly as he is somewhat demanding when it comes to money! I agree about Kallio. He's done a cracking job on the KTM - I hope the Duc isn't a step too far too soon though. 125s last year to a notoriously difficult MotoGP bike next year?! | ||
| White79bu |
What's up with Spies. He was supposed to announce something this week about his future. I know that his mother is pretty hardcore, but that guy can ride a motorcycle. Suzuki should have dumped Loris and signed Ben. If he would come down on his salary(which I think he would have). He could have done awesome things for Suzuki. I am a huge fan that is patiently waiting on were he is going to be next year. He needs to be in MotoGP but I would take WSB in 2009 and MotoGP in 2010. | ||
| Simond |
Second race at Vallelunga....... now that was what I was hoping we'd see from Haga and Bayliss this year! | ||
| Benm2 |
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresul ts/mcn/2008/September/22-28/sep2408-motogp-to-conf irm-bridgestone-tyres-for-2009/ One tire rule.... | ||
| Jaimec |
I saw that. Maybe they SHOULD pick Dunlop. What the hell, everyone would be on the same playing field so would it matter if the tires weren't as good as Bridgestone? Dunlop managed to outperform Michelin at a couple of venues last year and they are the defacto tire in the 125 and 250 classes, aren't they? Not to mention their experience in AMA Superbike (where the bikes are heavier and more powerful than the current 800cc MotoGP bikes). | ||
| Sd26 |
There's no picking. How much is a manufacturer willing to pay. Next, can they supply enough tires for ALL teams. That's why it didn't happen for this year: it was too hard for a single manufacturer to supply a good and proper tire for MotoGP competition. As for AMA Superbike tires, the aggregates in the tracks in the US are different from the aggregates in the mostly European FIM series. So, a tire that works good at Donnington is not a ringer for Laguna. | ||
| Benm2 |
Michelin have burnt their bridge. Even after last years debacle, they came to the game this year with more of the same. For a top rider like Pedrosa to switch tires mid-season is a BIG deal. With Stoner, Pedrosa AND Rossi on Bridgestones, what rider/team would WANT to gamble on the Michelin man? There would be outrage from the winning teams if the one-tire rule went to brand M. With WSB going Pirelli and MotoGP going Bridgestone, what will be left for Michelin? The US is already heavy on Dunlops & Pirellis... | ||
| Sd26 |
Michelin is currently working on the bid for the new AMA Series. It WILL be a spec tire for 2009. | ||
| Trojan |
What I find most amusing is that the one tyre rule is being touted on safety grounds, yet they will pcik the manufacturer with the current fastest tyre compound  Surely if they really want to restrict corner speeds they would choose a tyre that performed less well than the current leaders? Dunlop have almost no MotoGp experience, having struggled to compete last year to equip the Tech 3 Yamaha team, and were never competitive, so would actually be the best choice for a level playing field. I suppose if everyone was on the same 'uncompetitive' tyre then it would become competitive by default? A one tyre rule will be bad for everyone in MotoGP long term, but nobody is thinking past next season at the moment. MotoGP is supposed to be the pinnacle of Motorcycle sport, and as a prototype series really should allow almost anything within some wide guidelines. Unfortunately it is pretty much run by Honda behind the scenes, so what they say goes (hence the axing of the 250 class in favour of 600cc 4 strokes). It would also appear that JIR (the team that successfully run Andrea Dovizioso this year) have been told that they will not be allocated Honda RCV212's next year after all (as predicted by me earlier ) It seems that following their split with former team mates Scot, they have lost out to Scot in the allocation despite written assurances from Honda earlier that they would supply bikes to JIR. This is another bridge burnt for Ben Spies, who was hotly connected with the JIR team next year. Scot have not announced any rider or details of their team for 2009 yet, but Gianluca Montiron (boss of JIR) beleives he will now quit MotoGP altogether. It certainly seems an amazing snub by Honda for the most successful non factory team of 2008 (and who's rider they have poached to replace Hayden next year). (Message edited by trojan on September 24, 2008) | ||
| Jaimec |
If they really want to limit corner speeds, Rossi had the BEST advice: Go back to the fire-breathing 990s, and connect the throttle DIRECTLY to the intake butterflies instead of to a computer. Watch corner speeds drop. | ||
| Benm2 |
I don't really get the switch to the 600cc fours. There is already a four cylinder class with the 800's. I liked the 500cc 4-stroke twin plan. Development of those machines would produce some streetbike offshoots that are much closer to the wonderfulness of RGV250's. The 600 fours are too heavy. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Lets assume the motoGP goes to "One Tire Manufacturer Rule". Does this mean that everybody gets the same tires (spec-tire-rule)???? OR the manufacturer decides who gets the best tires ?? This would be catastrophic and definately much worse than it is now. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Go back to the fire-breathing 990s, and connect the throttle DIRECTLY to the intake butterflies instead of to a computer. Yes. I unfortunately didn't get to see the era when it took a real rider with nuts of steel to pilot a GP bike. | ||
| Bads1 |
Back in those days though when the machine was controled by the rider 100%. There was alot more injury. Many of the riders were lining up with broken this or that. Many of the riders would love to control it again but won't because of the safety issues that come with it. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Lorenzo seems to high side at will even with all the electronics... | ||
| Trojan |
There was alot more injury. Not strictly true. There are now far more crashes leading to injury than there were in the 'firebreathing' 990 days, just not as spectacular. If you look at this year's injury list it is clear that more injuries are now happening because of higher corner speeds (exactly the place where you tend to fall off), and that some riders are falling up to 4 times in a single weekend!. How the manufacturers didn't think of this when they (mainly Honda) decided they wanted 800cc bikes completely baffles me, because it was an obvious conclusion to draw. Now they are deciding to limit corner speeds by making it a one tyre rule and giving the most competitive tyre package (with the highest corner speeds) to everyone on the grid. Will this slow corner speeds? NO of course it won't. In fact what may happen is that the field will bunch more at high corner speeds, causing more accidents than we see even now. If they really have to slow corner speeds, which again is in doubt, The ONLY way other than to redesign the race circuits is to limit the electronic input, reduce tyre width and increase machine weight. If they still decide to go for a one make tyre rule then go for a less competitive tyre, just like WSB did when they picked Pirelli as their spec tyre. The difference between WSB and MotoGP though is that in WSB the bikes are production based, so although they can be be set up for the Pirelli tyres they cannot be altered too much from the stock production based chassis geometry, whereas in MotoGP the bike can be completely redesigned around whichever tyre is chosen as the spec tyre for the series. This inevitably means that engineers will have a free hand to find ways to bring the speed back up to exactly the same or even faster than they are now within a very short space of time. I fully expect the 2009/2010 MotoGP bikes to continue breaking lap records just like they do now. Unfortunately the decision will once again be a political one hiding beneath a very thin 'safety' veneer rather than a common sense solution with lasting benefits to racing at the highest level. | ||
| Clarkjw |
First off, Lorenzo is the fking man! He's done with falling off. Check the last few races. Remember what traction control does in corners: it adjust wheel speed by modulating throttle input. Imaging if you twist your wrist 3 times and the tire only responds twice. That'd fk any good rider up. I think MotoGP will be back to 990 in 2011, when the low class goes to 600. There are many ways to adjust corner speed, including rear tire width, limiting top speed, chicanes. Ride by wire changed the sport, but it doesn't have to kill it. | ||
| Jaimec |
Lowering the footpegs? | ||
| Bads1 |
Matt, Not according to some of the Riders comments in this months Road Racing World. They say they are faster and safer. | ||
| Trojan |
They say they are faster and safer. Depends on your perspective I suppose. If you were to ask Lorenzo & Hopkins they might disagree this season! The old 990 bikes had less accidents, but most were high side crashes which looked far more spectacularthan they do now. The old 500 class had more serious accidents than the 990. Since the change to 800's there have been far more accidents but mostly low side 'front end' crashes. Although the high side crash looks harder on the rider initially, in a low side they are usually travelling faster and travel further when they leave the bike. Luckily so far nobody has hit anything solid yet. The death of Dajiro Kato has always been one of the main reasons cited as to why the 990 was ditched in favour of the 800 class, yet his accident could have happened just as badly on a 800 or even a 125. He was just unlucky to have hit an unprotected section of wall. Recently however the High Side crash has made a resurgence as the power climbs and tyres struggle to cope (especially when cold). Riders are having to use harder tyres than before in order to last the race distance and these catch them out early in the race and in practice before they are up to heat. If the 990 class came back now (as has been suggested by some sources) it would be faster than before simply due to the better electronics now available allowing higher corner speeds again, so it would become more dangerous than either the previous 990 class or the current 800's. Maybe the best option would be to use a 'spec' ECU rather than common tyre. That way the electronics could be limited and supervised by the organisers. Each team would be issued an official sealed 'Race' ECU for each bike by race control at the start of the weekend, as well as having their own for practice and testing reasons. These could be recalled and checked/replaced easily by the organisers on a regular basis. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
First off, Lorenzo is the fking man! He's done with falling off. Check the last few races. Remember what traction control does in corners: it adjust wheel speed by modulating throttle input. Imaging if you twist your wrist 3 times and the tire only responds twice. That'd fk any good rider up. That whiney bitch was awesome at Laguna Seca. He almost made it to Turn 2 before another attempt at the Flying Munchkin. And you idea of traction control is interesting. | ||
| Jaimec |
I already laid out the least expensive way to lower cornering speeds. Just as there are specific rules governing engine displacement, weight and fuel capacity, add another specification for FOOT PEG HEIGHT. If you lower the pegs, you automatically lower cornering speeds! | ||
| Benm2 |
Interesting concept. Make them use forward controls & ape hangers... | ||
| Jaimec |
I don't think I'd go THAT far! Sheesh!  | ||
| Jaimec |
VALENTINO ROSSI!! | ||
| Smoke |
pretty good racing then Vale checked out. props to Dani for congratulating Vale from the podium, nothing but excuses from Casey. Philip Island next! tim |
