| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
There have been many great races with the 800cc bikes. Many? I don't think so. Maybe 5 at most. Allow the bikes to use as large a fuel tank as they like and as much fuel as they want. Here's a HUGE change that would help skyrocket the popularity of the series: Two races per weekend, one on Saturday, one on Sunday, or two on Sunday as desired. Costs would increase substantially without any increase in 'privateer' competitiveness unfortunately. Unlike DMG, it isn't the factory teams as such that are to blame for the current situation, but rather the fact that the rules are pretty much written by the factories (Honda in particular) so they make the rules to suit what they want rather than what the sport needs. What should happen is that the FIM force the factories to lease or sell bikes to non factory teams (even last years bikes would be better than nothing) like they did when the 2 stroke GP's were in the same situation. In addition to this, give the privateer teams a bigger fuel allowance and more testing opportunities and it could redress the balance slightly. The only other alternative that I can see would be to introduce draconian Moto2 style rules in order to level upthe playing field sufficiently to allow private teams to be competitive. The current rookie rule is neither here nor there to be honest and is probably a good thing for the series. What it has done is increase manufacturer support for some of the smaller teams at least (at the expense of the other non factory teams though. | ||
| Jaimec |
http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-grea t-british-hope/ | ||
| Trojan |
Interesting article but it only brushes the surface of the biggest reasons why Brits don't get into GP racing in the first place. The UK racing scene is almost entirely made up of production racing, with the exception of national 125 and very few 250GP classes at club level (mostly running ancient TZ & RS250 customer bikes). There is no structure in place to encourage young riders into GP's at an early age like there is in Spain and Italy, so young riders such as Bradley Smith and Scott Redding had to maove to Spain in order to get noticed and compete on GP machinery (as did a young CaseY Stoner). This situation is almost mirrored in the US now and I think we will see less and less US riders breaking into GP's for the same reasons. 80% of the GP technology is either developed in the UK or built there (Harris, FTR etc) and the experience here in motorsports in general and F1 in particular is huge. This was the main reason for Kenny Roberts basing his team in Banbury (inside the F1 'corridor'). Yet there is little interest and no sponsorhip money available from huge UK companies to encourage British teams to take part at GP or even WSBK level. Every so often a rider will come along that can buck the trend and get a ride in GP's, but all too often these are second rate 'paid for' rides with no chance of showing true potential or speed. Hopefully Cal Crutchlow will be the first in a long time to redress this balance, but I have an awful feeling that he will be pilloried by the British press if he isn't an instant success and won't be given a fair crack of the whip to establish himself at the top level. Scott Redding is a much beter long term hope I think  | ||
| Jaimec |
At least Toseland was a two time Superbike champ when he made the switch. Crutchlow won... what... Superstock? A much more production-based series than even Superbike. It'll be interesting to see how he adapts to the pure prototypes of MotoGP... | ||
| Trojan |
Crutchlow is a much better rider than Toseland ever was in fact. When they were team mates last year he comprehensively beat Toseland in just about every session and every race. James Toseland has had a pretty 'priviliged' background when it comes to racing bikes, so has always had factory or factory spec bikes at his disposal really and has hence been flattered by them to a large extent. His only really surprising victory was winning the SBK titkle on the Ten kate Honda (although the opposition wasn't too great that year either). Crutchlow won the World Supersport title at his first attempt remember (a much harder prospect that it would appear) beating some very good riders as well. He also won WSB races in his rookie year despite Yamaha doing their best over the winter to ruin a winning machine from the previous season. The big difference between Crutchlow and Toseland though is that Cal will adapt his riding style to suit the bike rather than try to make the bike fit him, which is where Tosleand failed in his MotoGP years. If Cal is fully fit I expect he will make quite an impact this year, if he is allowed to just get on with the job and not be expected to win first time out by the British press. I think he and Colin Edwards will fall out pretty quickly though | ||
| Simond |
......another graduate of the Foggy charm school  ! I like his forthright nature but he made a bit of a dick of himself with Biaggi last year. I agree about his prospects and have been following him with interest since his Virgin Cup days. Although he didn't win that series he was the most promising rider that year by some margin. That was Tommy Hill's winning year wasn't it? | ||
| Davegess |
I picked up MCN's 2010 season review and it is pretty cool. Kinda priciey but some good stories. Says Spies might become an alien next year, has the inside scoop on Rossi going to Ducati and has a neat section on Irish road racing with some great pictures of the Munster 100. That race course is really nutty. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
It seems that there are high expectations for poor Crutchlow.....Lets wait and see. I personally do not think he will impress. Crutchlow did better that Toseland last year, for sure. But I think that Toseland was having psychological and confidence issues after his motoGP years. He is not at his best, for sure. Let's not forget that Toseland was one of a few in WSBK that managed to beat Bayliss for a title in 2007 in a inferior bike. The CBR was moving around all the time, but Toseland did get the title nevertheless. | ||
| Simond |
He'll do well if he can stay on the bike and avoid injury............. not one of his strengths in 2010 it has to be said! | ||
| Jaimec |
I find myself bemused over all the hoopla this week of Rossi and Ducati. Casey, having won the first 800cc World Title on the thing must have some interesting thoughts. As must the other Italian who HAS won a World Championship on an Italian-made bike with far less media frenzy. | ||
| Trojan |
I personally do not think he will impress. I think you will be proved wrong. Crutchlow is a very tough little guy and a great competitor. if he is allowed to take his time and get used to the bike without pressure for immediate results I think he will surprise more than a few people. He is certainly a much better natural rider than Toseland and is able to translate his ability between different bikes a lot easier than James I think. He was also faster than Ben Spies on the R1 at a lot of circuits last year, and even taking into account improved tyres I think he will in the same ball park as Ben was last year. Unfortunately Crutchlow comes into 2011 with the same injury worries as Rossi and has also had recent shoulder surgery. It is unlikely that he will be fully fit before the first GP starts so has missed some vital testing compared to other rookies, so needs to do his learning on race weekends instead. I find myself bemused over all the hoopla this week of Rossi and Ducati. The product of a quiet off season and rabid Italian/world press I'm afraid. I'm sure the prima donna F1 guys at Ferrari wondered why they weren't getting all the attention for a change (Alonso will probably sulk for months!). Personally I like the coverage and it brightens up a dull motorcycling month at least | ||
| Jaimec |
At LAST!! Someone with the vision and guts to look beyond the telescopic front fork! Moto2 just got a LOT more interesting to me! | ||
| Trojan |
Exciting news regarding the Vyrus in Moto2. I only hope that they have the budget and the right rider to make it work. Phil Read Jr (who raced for us in 2006 on teh Buell) went on to race a Vyrus hub centre stered bike in UK Thunderbikes in 2008-2009. He said that you really had to relearn all the skills you use when riding to get the best from it and had to have 150% confidence in the front end even though you couldn't 'feel' what it was doing. They did get it to be pretty competitive by the end of 2009 but it was still beaten to the title by a 20 year old CBR600 with a fraction of their budget  Good to see some alternative technology in racing at last though. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
It's front end sounds like a Duc GP..... | ||
| Trojan |
It's front end sounds like a Duc GP..... Nothing like it really, other than being attached to the top of the engine rather than a conventional frame. The Vyrus has no forks at all and is a true hub centre steered bike developed and improved from the 2nd generation Bimota Tesi. It has more in common with the old Elf Hondas ridden by Ron Haslam back in the 80's than any other current race bike. One of the stranger aspects of these bikes is that tyre wear is minimal compared to 'normal' front ends. It remains to be seen whether they can generate enough front tyre heat with this design to make it competitive with hydraulic forks, which are now pretty much at the top of their evolutionary tree. Getting teams brave enough to try it could be another problem, as FTR found out last year when trying to sell radical engineering concepts to teams who just wanted tried and tested solutions. The 2011 Moto 2 entry list has closed as far as I know, so unless they can get a team to change from the established Suter/Moriwaki/FTR chassis or manage to get another grid place it is difficult to see how they will get any of these bikes onto the World Moto2 grid this year (although they could certainly run in Spanish domestic Moto2 series no problem). I would love to see it on the world stage though, and it may be the catalyst needed for some really radical engineering to start appearing in the prototype series at last. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I mean as far as "feel" from the rider..... Maybe this front is the solution to Rossi's problems.  | ||
| Jaimec |
I know there's a team racing a Hossach style front end, and BMW has done pretty well in endurance racing with their telelever front end (and how could we ever forget the Britten?) but this is the first time I've heard of anyone looking at an alternative front end in a major series. I hope it catches on. I always thought Parker's RADD front end (the Yamaha GTS1000) was the most elegant solution to a swingarm front end. No "Rube Goldberg" collection of struts and joints, just a simple steering tube from the handlebars to the hub. The Vyrus/Bimota system looks like it wouldn't take long for enough "slop" to develop to make it unridable. Not a problem with a race bike, I guess... just rebuild it after every race. Not practical for a street bike, though. | ||
| Trojan |
The Vyrus/Bimota system looks like it wouldn't take long for enough "slop" to develop to make it unridable. Not a problem with a race bike, I guess... just rebuild it after every race. Not practical for a street bike, though. According to Phil Read the steering on his race Vyrus didn't need any upkeep or special servicing all year on their bike despite some hammering it got on rough/bumpy circuits. It did take them quite a while to get a front shock made that worked well with the front end, and the feel from the front end was always 'vague' to say the least. They were able to 'dial in' some dive under braking to make it feel a bit more normal, but he always said that there seems to be no direct connection between rider input and steering feel, which would be worrying to start with I think and would take some getting used to! Once he had confidence in the system it was very good, but still not a huge leap forward from conventional forks unfortunately. This is the same conclusion that Elf came to in the 1980's with their hub centre design. It had all the theoretical advantages but in practice was no better than what was already in use. The GTS 1000 Yamaha was a hugely underrated bike that just happened too soon I think. Mark Linsdell raced one at the TT with some success (fitted with an FZ750 engine) and the chassis was very good but heavy. It just shows how conservative motorcyclists are that it never caught on (Message edited by trojan on January 14, 2011) | ||
| Trojan |
Mark Linsdell's GTS1000  Mark's son Ollie was due to ride a hub centre steered EVO Design/Lotus electric bike in the TTXGP series but following his injuries sustained at the Manx GP last year I don't know if that is still planned This bike was partly designed by ex Norton team rider and master engineer Peter Williams.  | ||
| Jaimec |
I do remember hearing an anecdote about the time Yamaha came out with the GTS1000. They were track testing it the same day Kenny Roberts Marlboro Yamaha team was practicing. IIRC, Roberts told Yamaha: "You keep that thing AWAY from my bikes" referring to the RADD front end. | ||
| Jaimec |
Rossi's "problem" has more to do with his healing shoulder than any thing to do with the GP11. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Lets see how much Nicky Hayden is going to improve with the GP11, compared to the GP10. He has no injuries and he has a lot of experience with the GP10. Hayden is the "baseline" on whether Ducati has improved their bike the last months. According to the "experts", bikes developed by Rossi help all riders go faster. The questions are : Will Ducati listen to Rossi and his crew ??? Or just keep evolving a problematic design ???? | ||
| Trojan |
The questions are : Will Ducati listen to Rossi and his crew ??? Do bears sh*t in woods? They have already made huge changes to last years bike based on the initial feedback from Valencia and the latest test at Jerez this week seems to have been a move in the right direction based on Rossi's initial observations. | ||
| Blake |
Matt, >>> This bike was partly designed by ex Norton team rider and master engineer Peter Williams. What bike is that?  | ||
| Trojan |
>>> This bike was partly designed by ex Norton team rider and master engineer Peter Williams. What bike is that? The EVO Design electric race bike that Ollie Linsdell was scheduled to be racing. Peter Williams has had the chassis design completed for some time and has been looking for a suitable vehicle to use it with. In association with Lotus engineering he has built a monocoque chassis that envelops the 'engine' like a clam shell (split vertically along the centre line of the bike) and is extremely rigid whilst being very light. Stering is hub centre and is very similar in design to the GTS 1000 rather than following the Bimota/Vyrus rod & linkage route. I first saw this chassis design from Peter Williams around 5 years ago and he was hoping to get a major manufacturer interested in getting a conventional combustion engined version for racing. Unfortunately the main players in the motorcycle industry seem averse to any new ideas or risks at the moment so the end result is this electric racer. | ||
| Jaimec |
In his autobiography, Vale said Ducati was too much like Honda which is why he switched to Yamaha. In that, I guess he thought Ducati's attitude was "We build great bikes, YOU have to learn how to ride it properly." I guess Ducati has had a change of heart. | ||
| Trojan |
There is a 7 page Rossi/Ducati feature in this weeks MCN and it is apprent that they are doing pretty much whatever he aks. They have already changed the 'frame' to allow more flex, fitted smaller diameter front forks, altered engine mapping for more torque and smoother drive, added more sophisticated 'anti wheelie' software to the engine management + other changes they are not too happy to talk about. They say that there will be further changes following the Sepang tests at the end of this month, so they are certainly not sitting around just waiting for the season to start that's for sure. The article does however say that the shoulder injury is far worse, and slower to heal, than anyone thought even after the surgery. They are now saying that Rossi may not be fully fit until around May, and so far has only 70-75% movement which is hindering getting into position on the bike more than anything else. he may not take a full part in the upcoming tests and may be restricted to short sessions (10 laps) on the bike rather than full race distances. Whether this is sandbagging or the truth (I suspect it is the latter) it will be a shame for the championship if Rossi isn't fully fit at the start of the season. I'm sure all the Rossi haters will be happy though | ||
| Jaimec |
Rossi isn't a 20-year old anymore. The body doesn't bounce back the way it used to, unfortunately. But I think Yamaha made the right decision in taking Lorenzo over Rossi... there is no denying what he's contributed to the factory and the team in his seven years, but you don't win by staying in the past. As I hear all the time: it's not personal, it's just business. Lorenzo and Spies position Yamaha for the future. Ducati, however, is ALSO planning for the future. By having Vale NOW, he can set their engineering direction for the years ahead. Interesting times indeed. | ||
| Davegess |
Shoulder injuries are very tough. We are very good at fixing knees but the shoulder seems to be harder. Very nice bit of engineering the shoulder but it does not like having the bits tore up. | ||
| Blake |
Having Rossi around while developing the new liter class machine should prove very beneficial indeed. Dave, Shoulders are tough customers; I say "Go Elbowz!"  |
