| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Don't be insulting. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Insulting, no. Patronizing maybe. The guy puts his foot in his mouth about racing every time he speaks, I'm just going with it now. | ||
| Buell2001b |
ha ha, comon guys, badlionsfan was funny. I have to give him that. nice come back dude | ||
| Badlionsfan |
I'm glad you get it, it's all in good fun to amuse myself and others.  | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I have read somewhere that the Yamaha bikes were testing a new front tire from Bridgestone. Would this explain the fact that no Yamaha improved their times on Friday ?? | ||
| Jaimec |
Very likely. I'd like to know why everyone was crashing at Turn 2 myself... | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Somehow I fell sorry for Haga now. He tried to race against Spies last year , who was in a different league than everybody else in WSBK. How was it possible to get the title ?? No chance..... | ||
| Trojan |
I have read somewhere that the Yamaha bikes were testing a new front tire from Bridgestone. Would this explain the fact that no Yamaha improved their times on Friday ?? All of the top teams had access to the new hard front Bridgestone tyre throughout the test, and that was the cause of one of Spies crashes ( i think he had 3 or 4 in total over the course of the testand he certainly wasn't alone). Rossi was slower on the last day because he spent the entire day testing electronics and not trying for a 'fast' lap by his standards. Stoner ended the test 5 hundreths of a second faster than Rossi so I wouldn't exactly say he has it sewn up just yet  As for Rossi having a better M1 than everyone else........rubbish. If SPies/Edwards/Lorenzo had inferior bikes to Rossi they would be a lot further back on the times thats for sure. All three of them are benefitting from the Rossi/Burgess development of the M1 that they have doen over the last 4 years. Incidentally, there is a very good article here by David Emmett regarding the prospect of 'who goes where' in 2011 and just what it may cost the factories and MotoGP in general  http://www.motomatters.com/opinion/2010/03/21/the_price_of_success_how_the_2010_silly_.html (Message edited by trojan on March 22, 2010) (Message edited by trojan on March 22, 2010) | ||
| Duggram |
Matt, the author of that article left out one potentially important factor, Ben Spies. Fun to read but it took a later poster to bring up the potential impact Spies could have on silly season. What happens when you consider his impact? The author thinks Rossi could likely stay with Yamaha. So, what would it take for a Rossi/Spies team? What if Rossi leaves Yamaha, is Lorenzo/Spies a no brainer? | ||
| Trojan |
I think that Spies will be an important factor but not in the same ballpark as the Alien 4 unless he makes a MASSIVE impact and wins loads of races this year. If he is 'best of the rest' then he will be much in demand as a second rider behind Rossi or Lorenzo (whoever stays at Yamaha as No 1) but I can't see Spies moving factory for 2011 because he is loyal and respects/owes Yamaha for giving him a break in MotoGP in the first place. I don't know how long Ben's contract is or if it is with Yamaha or Tech 3 (I suspect directly with Yamaha) but can't see him moving elsewhere next year. The two riders who really need to lift their game this year are Pedrosa and Hayden, and it is their respective factory rides that stand to be vacant first if neither of them can break the regular top 3. Remember Ducati were very willing to offer Lorenzo a ride last year and were pretty slow in confirming their option on Nicky. In fact they only confirmed Hayden after failing to grab Lorenzo or Pedrosa last summer. | ||
| Gaesati |
As you said, Hayden needs to lift his game. Preseason indicates a big step forward for him. The big bang engine is probably more maneageable but by the end of last year Ducati was prepared to alter the ergonomic setup of the bike to suit him. Despite being a Stoner fanatic, I suspect that Stoner is only able to develop a bike that suits his own style. | ||
| Buell2001b |
I say spies to Ducati. Stoner,Spies,Hayden to race a Ducati is ore then being on a bike. Its a Ducati | ||
| Blake |
Matt, "I think that Spies will be an important factor but not in the same ballpark as the Alien 4 unless he makes a MASSIVE impact and wins loads of races this year. " Your bias is showing, again. An unbiased view would be that if Spies 2nd string satellite team is able to run with the leaders in a number of races and finish in the top four in the championship, he will not only be in the same ballpark, but will deserve a 1st string ride. Pedrosa has had his chances and cannot get it done. When the literbikes are back in MotoGP, Pedrosa and the other midgets will likely be finished, and Hayden will be much more a factor. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Hayden will not be a major factor in motogp , but he will have a good season in 2010. People should stop having too high expectations from Hayden. He is a great rider and character , and everybody respects that. I just do not see Hayden winning a race in motoGP again. | ||
| Jaimec |
I don't see Spies going to Ducati. Spies is very loyal to the factories that support him. He wanted to stay with Suzuki in the worst way, but Suzuki (STUPIDLY, I might add) refused to pay his salary. Yamaha smartly stepped up and is treating him like a King. It'll take more than just money to get him away from them. I suspect that every time Spies does well, someone back in Suzuki HQ is getting his ass soundly kicked. As for Nicky? I've said it before: I don't care if he wins the championship or not... as long as he does better than that Spanish midget, I'm happy. No luck last year, but this year it's looking good! (Message edited by jaimec on March 23, 2010) | ||
| Crusty |
One of my more enjoyable moments of being at the Indy GP was seeing the little rat weasel crash while leading, and throwing away a possible win. Karma is a bitch sometimes. | ||
| Trojan |
Your bias is showing, again. An unbiased view would be that if Spies 2nd string satellite team is able to run with the leaders in a number of races and finish in the top four in the championship, he will not only be in the same ballpark, but will deserve a 1st string ride. Pedrosa has had his chances and cannot get it done. Hi Blake, No bias at all, just pure logic, market forces and 'factory thinking'. If Spies makes a huge impact and finishes in the top 4 then he will of course be a target for factory teams next year, but which factory. If the status quo remains as it has done over the previous umpteen seasons then the Alien 4 will dictate who goes where in 2011 and they will have the plum rides (How many other offers has Colin Edwards had since finishing 'best of the rest' last year?). Yamaha have Lorenzo and Rossi already (two of the very best Aliens) so if they both stay there will be no room for Spies even if he finishes 4th this year. Spies could find himself in the factory Yamaha team but only if Lorenzo or Rossi can be tempted elsewhere I think. Spies could of course defect to Honda or Ducati if they dump Hayden at the end of this year, but he may wish to remain loyal to Yamaha after they have given him his big break. Also the Yamaha is THE class bike in the field at the moment, so moving to Honda or Ducati may pay more but could be a bad move in terms of having competitive machinery. I think that in the event of Rossi and Lorenzo staying at Yamaha for 2011 Spies may stay at Tech 3 with a full factory bike just as Honda have done with Simoncelli and De Puniet. Spies has the best opportunity of any 'rookie' this year because (apart from great talent) he is on the best bike and Honda have made such a mess of their new 2010 bike. I can't see any of the Honda riders making any impact at the front of the field (with the possible exception of Dovi and occasional good rides by DePuniet) so Pedrosa will be playing catchup for at least the first half of the season. All of the Honda riders are complaining about the new bike and it looks like being a major job to get it sorted. Stoner will of course run at the front all year but Hayden seems yet again to be inconsistent in testing and has yet to show he has mastered the factory Ducati come race day. Suzuki are mediocre and Pramac don't appear to be getting any better with the satellite Ducati either, so it appears to be a Yamaha year again When the literbikes are back in MotoGP, Pedrosa and the other midgets will likely be finished, and Hayden will be much more a factor. I wouldn't expect too much to change with the introduction of litre bikes again. It is a bit of a myth that we will see a return of the fire breathing 990 days, as the new bikes will be equipped with the same electronics packages that are controlling and dominating the current 800 bikes. This means we will see slightly larger, slightly heavier versions of the bikes racing now rather than tail sliding bucking broncos of past years. Factory teams will probably retain their 800cc bikes for 2011 and maybe even 2012 unless forced to change by the rules, while the litre bikes will be run further down the grid by satellite and (hopefully) privateer teams and will probably be less powerful and less agile than the factory 800's. By the time the factories are forced to run the 1000cc bikes they will be pretty much the same as we see now and the current top 4 will still be in situ. | ||
| Jaimec |
In all fairness, Colin has his age working against him. Ben would be a far juicier acquisition because any team would likely have more years of service out of him. Colin was already talking about retirement until his recent rejuvenation against Toseland last season. | ||
| Trojan |
I agree, but just made the point about Colin to show that being 'best of the rest' doesn't necessarily mean you will have factories lining up to sign you for next year. Spies is undoubtedly the hottest property in GP racing at the moment, but that is no guarantee of a place in a top team. There are established GP winners who can't get rides ann have had to move into WSB or Moto2 already, and so long as the top 4 remain in post it is likely that the factories will do everything they can to keep them there. The whole 2011 contract circus will revolve around where Rossi decides to hang his hat next year, and he holds the key to so many of the top rides that nobody will do anything until he decides his fate. If he moves then Ben has a great shot at the factory Yamaha team (provided he can back up his impressive testing form with race results of course), but if Rossi and Lorenzo decide to stay put where has Spies got to go really? His best option may be to stay at Tech 3 with a factory Yamaha for next year and hope that Rossi retires at the end of 2011. | ||
| Amafan |
Spies is signed for the next 2 years with Yamaha ,so he will be racing for 1 of the 2 Yamaha teams in 2011 . | ||
| Blake |
The factory teams won't go to 1,000cc machines when the rules allow it? Huh? That sure runs counter to history. Larger riders will benefit from the bigger, more powerful machines. How could they not? How will a 25% increase in displacement not affect the power output? I'm not following your reasoning at all Matt. Something in the rules that I'm missing that will handicap the literbikes in MotoGP in 2011? | ||
| Blake |
Rossi is the only rider in MotoGP who deserves any kind of special "alien" accolade. The others are excellent riders on top factory teams. They all had their clocks cleaned by Rossi last year. Pedrosa has failed time and time again on THE most well-funded team in the paddock on a bike that was developed specifically for him. FAIL. If he wasn't 30 pounds lighter than the average racer, he'd be mid-pack. (Message edited by blake on March 24, 2010) | ||
| Jaimec |
Blake, Yamaha has already said they're sticking with the 800cc bikes. Remember, these are still tough economic times, and Yamaha would rather run with the engine they have than spend the R&D dollars on a whole new engine. For the near future, anyway. I think that's what Matt was talking about. As far as I know, Yamaha is the only factory to make that statement so far... haven't heard of Ducati, Honda, or Suzuki making the same declaration. | ||
| Buell2001b |
I think he has finally got it. He is going to surprise people. I think Nicky might share some podiums with Stoner. nothign nicer then 2 ducs on the podium | ||
| Jaimec |
I got something better than two Ducs on the podium: Two TEXANS on the podium!! | ||
| Blake |
  | ||
| Bads1 |
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=3 9829 | ||
| Trojan |
The factory teams won't go to 1,000cc machines when the rules allow it? Huh? That sure runs counter to history. As Jaimec has already pointed out, the factories are facing tough economic times and are kicking hard against a sudden change to 1000cc prototypes that would mean developing an all new engine for 2011. They want to get as much 'mileage' out of the 800 engines they have already ploughed millions of dollars into before consigning them to the scrap heap. Both Yamaha and Honda have both said that they plan to run the current 800cc bikes nect year, although that doesn't mean that they won't start development of the new motor and possibly change mid season if it looks like they will be a significant advantage. The rules are written so that the litre bikes won't have a power advantage over the 800's and will also be heavier, so your assumption that they will be more powerful by virtue of their 25% displacement advantage won't happen I'm afraid. Electronics will limit wheelspin and they will ride pretty much like the 800 bikes they are replacing, so the riding style required won't favour the larger riders any more than the curent machines. High corner speed will still be the dictating discipline unless they limit rider aids and halt tyre development. Racing won't be any closer than it is now and the top guys will still be the top guys regardless of the format. The 1000cc rule will mostly benefit the smaller teams who will be able to run a modified production engine in a prototype frame to save millions in costs. Don't expect to see one being competitive with the factory teams though, and I expect there to be even more of a 2 tier championship next year than we see now. Ducati have announced that they might start development of their 1000cc engine soon, and I would expect most of the factories to do the same behind closed doors but only race it when they absolutely need to or the rules force their hands. As for Pedrosa being mid field...don't write of the little fella just yet. He may not have the stamina and consistency to be world champion and Honda have big problems at the moment, but he will probably run at the sharp end of the field once the big H sorts his bike out, as he almost always does. | ||
| Jaimec |
I've said it before and I'll say it again: The easiest and most cost-effective way to lower cornering speeds are to set a maximum height for the rider footpegs. That will slow them down more than any amount of electronics or computer wizardry you'd want to throw at the problem. Why do the simplest answers always evade smart people??? | ||
| Trojan |
The easiest and most cost-effective way to lower cornering speeds are to set a maximum height for the rider footpegs. I'm sure the factories would find a way around it by having 'false' folding footepgs mounted at the correct height and some other footrests mounted higher that the rider could use during the race One think I have learned in racing over the years is that for all the effort that goes into making rules there is always twice as mcuh thought given to how to get around them. Maybe they should ban footrests altogether so the rider has to drag his feet on the ground, or maybe make forward controls or footboards mandatory? H-D could get into MotoGP and race full dress tourers |
