| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
The more they stack the deck, the more I want to see them LOSE. Go Elbowz and Jorge!!! http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/honda-facto ry-riders-knights-gresini-honda-factory-squad/ | ||
| Trojan |
Structurally speaking, that Harris chassis is frightening. Looks to me like it is at extreme risk of some serious fatigue cracking. Hope not for the racer's sake. Harris have been making race bike chassis for long enough now that I think they are pretty safe  Most of the major Jap factories have had frames built by the Harris brothers at some time in the last 30 years (although they sometimes didn't like to advertise the fact!). Those main frames are machined from billet rather than cast alloy, so I would bet that this is stronger (and lighter) than pretty much any production frames manufactured today. | ||
| Trojan |
The more they stack the deck, the more I want to see them LOSE. Go Elbowz and Jorge!!! I don't think it is really big news. Simoncelli is contracted directly to HRC do is a factory rider in all but colour scheme anyway. Aoyama is a favourite son of Honda and is only still in MotoGP because Honda want him there and pay his salary. All this deal does is formalise the exisiting arrangements and give them access to teh factory data (which they may have already had in Simoncellis case). I hope this means that Simoncelli will be fighting the Repsol boys on a level playing field and I am looking forward to seeinghim give Stoner a lesson in aggressive riding Yamaha and the others should start to pray for rain I think, as it looks like Honda are serious about winning the last 800 title this year  | ||
| Jaimec |
Honda is doing everything they can to BUY the championship. They've imposed rules changes that make no sense in the past, and now they're going with FIVE factory riders. The more they try, the more I want to see them lose. PS: Tony Elias must feel like the red-headed stepchild right around now... | ||
| Trojan |
PS: Tony Elias must feel like the red-headed stepchild right around now... Unfortunately Toni got the MotoGP ride for winning the Moto2 championship.Trouble was nobody actually wanted him in their team He was originally told he would be riding for Pramac when he won the title but pretty much told them to shove it and give him something competitive...so he ends up on the only customer Honda on the grid and miles slower than everyone else Pity, as he is a good rider and people forget he beat Rossi fair and square in a straight race a few years ago (not many people can say that!). I bet he is wondering what he has to do to get noticed! | ||
| 46champ |
Beat Rossi fare and square I think we have  wright there. Thou shall not smite god or thou shall be punished | ||
| Trojan |
You would think that being only one of a very few riders to have beaten Rossi in a straight fight would be an advantage in getting a ride rather than a hindrance. Add the fact that he has the right passport (Spanish) and is current Moto2 champion and you would think that teams would be falling over themselves to sign him. Unfortunately by the time he won the Moto2 title most of the top teams had riders in place for this year (Repsol Honda even had too many riders!) so he was left with Hobson's choice really. Shame as on his day he is very good. Problem is he can't seem to replicate that form every week on a MotoGP bike. | ||
| Jaimec |
Now here's an interesting statistic in this MCN article: http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresul ts/MotoGP/2011/March/mar0811BenSpieswontbefazedbyJ orgeLorenzothreat/ Ben Spies has never been outscored by a team mate. 2011 is going to be an interesting year... | ||
| Crusty |
I hope Spies does to Lorenzo what he did to Mladin. | ||
| Jaimec |
I just hope they get along better with each other than they did with their more famous respective team mates. All signs indicate they're off to a good start. | ||
| Amafan |
In 2005 Mat Mladin won the AMA Superbike title, he was Ben Spies' team mate that year . Ben Spies only won 1 race in 2005,and that was because Mladin's bike broke down at Fontana, when he allready had a huge lead in the race . | ||
| Trojan |
I hope Spies does to Lorenzo what he did to Mladin. This is GP racing and there are very few fragile egos or shrinking violets amongst the riders at the top. If you tink that Lorenzo will crumble with Spies aas a team mate after he has dealt with Rossi for 2 years I think you are mistaken. I do think that relations inside the Yamaha garage will get strained this year and the 'old pals act' certainly won't last all year (unless Spies turns out to be no threat to Lorenzo). If they are about level at mid year I expect the atmosphere to be very different! | ||
| Jaimec |
Thanks, AMAFan, I suspected MCN was mistaken (what a surprise) but I wasn't sure. Now on to today's topic: Stupid quote of the day. Several sources are quoting Casey Stoner as saying: "It will be interesting to see who will go for the victory in Qatar." Let me take a guess, Casey: EVERYBODY!! Does ANYONE enter MotoGP thinking: "I'm going to try and get second place today??" Sheesh. | ||
| Jaimec |
So far, Ben Spies has been the fastest man on a Yamaha this pre-season. Three of the four Yamaha men finished in the top six yesterday. The Hondas are ominously fast so Ben and Jorge are going to have to hone their racecraft to overcome the speed differential. Vale was the fastest man on a Ducati, and finally cracked the Top 10 this session. First race is finally close enough to taste! | ||
| Trojan |
Who's for betting that....... Stoner will crash out Pedrosa will lead by a mile and then...crash out Simoncelli will win the race after barging both Lorenzo and Spies out of the way on the penultimate lap..... Rossi will cruise around to an uneventful 2nd place... and will kiss his Ducati on the slow down lap. Now where did I put that crystal ball..... | ||
| Crusty |
I'm wondering if the tragedy in Japan will cause the manufacturers to pull out of Moto GP. There are much more important things to spend the money on at home than funding motorcycle racing teams in Europe. | ||
| Jaimec |
I don't think Rossi will be in a podium position by race day, but ya never know. But a Honda 1-2-3 isn't out of the question, and I'm SICK thinking about that. Hoping Ben or Jorge can stop the Honda freight train on race day. | ||
| Trojan |
I'm wondering if the tragedy in Japan will cause the manufacturers to pull out of Moto GP. There are much more important things to spend the money on at home than funding motorcycle racing teams in Europe. No word on pulling out or even downsizing their efforts yet (Most of the factories are outside the zone devastated by the Tsunami). I heard that the Honda R&D facility was destroyed/damaged but haven't heard any news other than that regarding bike companies. I think the ongoing effects may have more impact financially on the factories than the earthquake itself. With major power losses and rationing of electricity a lot of the manufacturing plants have stopped production completely (Nissan/Honda/ Toyaota have all stopped). Kawasaki is a heavy manufacturing business with shipyards and other industries effected quite badly, so it will be in the coming months that they start to feel the full effects financially, and it is then that we may see some cutbacks in sporting activities. The impact on the country as a whole seems to be patchy. We still have customers from japan ordering bike parts from us so south of Tokyo things seem to be running almost as normal I think (or what would pass as normal compared to the devastation further north at least). | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Motegi seems to be rescheduled to October , just like last year. What is really happening at Ducati ??? I think that they should have checked the "flex package" by now, because they are in a worst position from last year. It did not seem to help. I wonder when Preziosi will admit publicly that they have a major design fault, and that their bike needs a major redesign. Rossi admited to return to Stoner's setup , after all his different solutions made the bike slower. So it seems that Stoner managed to find a setup for the Duc so that to get the maximum performance from it, and Rossi just verified that. The only people that crashed in Qatar were all the Ducati riders and Crutchlow. Is Lorenzo working on "split times" ?? Spies started to perform better than expected again !!!! | ||
| Blake |
The Japanese are not quitters. Pulling out of MotoGP would kill a lot of jobs and moral. They need both right now. Money is not the issue for Japan. They have money. They just have a LOT of work to do. If you want to be amazed at how things can get done, watch their recovery effort in action over the coming months. This is nothing new for the people of Japan. Watch and learn. Also, you can take it to the bank that any weak points in their infrastructure that were revealed by this tragedy will not appear again. Go Japan! | ||
| Blake |
Go Ben Spies and Rossi!  | ||
| Court |
>>>Also, you can take it to the bank that any weak points in their infrastructure that were revealed by this tragedy will not appear again. Go Japan! I agree. It's going to be amazing to watch. Thoughts and prayers are with those folks. | ||
| Trojan |
The only people that crashed in Qatar were all the Ducati riders and Crutchlow. There were a few more crashes than that I think. Justnot reported as they are pretty routine now What is really happening at Ducati ??? I think that they should have checked the "flex package" by now, Ducati have just run out of time to test the new package sohave reverted to the known chassis for the first race. Rossi is still complaining of shoulder trouble after two days testing and couldn't hold onto teh bike on the last day apparently. They never even got to try the soft tyres so are just not getting the mileage they need. Having said that, when the flag drops it will be the racers who get to the front adnnot necessarily the guys who set the fastest times in testing. The times are close enough to give us a decent race I think, and De Puniet has shown that the Ducati can be hussled round pretty quickly The pictures coming out of Japan are like some kind of horrible post apocalyptic movie, and you have to wonder how they will get back to normal again any time soon. However even just two days afterwards you can see how organised they are compared to Haiti and other recent Earthquale zones, so I have no doubt they will recover very quickly. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I have serious doubt that Ducati has not tried the flex package. Running out of time ??? Honda so far tried 2 different chassis , and Yamaha brought a new swingarm to Lorenzo in Qatar. Both Honda and Yamaha are showing good form , while Ducati have no time to test new part while they struggle ??? I do not buy it. It is more likely that they tested it and was even worse than their standard setup, which they are now running. | ||
| Jaimec |
Wow, with the ENTIRE WORLD MOTORCYCLING PRESS watching the Ducati garage under a microscope, I wonder how they missed that, Vagelis? | ||
| Rasta_dog |
Four weeks ago the Rossi fanboy's discounted the lap times, as they should have. But now the excuse making is about to begin. Stoner won a championship with Ducati. Of course, that was because he was on "superior" equipment. And when he didn't it was because he fell or missed time because of illness, which is cause to be ridiculed. Rossi wins despite being on "inferior" equipment, or when he loses it was because he was at Death's door. And don't even think that Hayden earned his championship. That too was a gift from Rossi...What a bunch of garbage. Thankfully, another GP season is about to begin for my enjoyment. I always pull for the underdogs, so go Ducati Corse in 2011. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
If Ducati have failed so far to put to the test the *flex package* , then there is something wrong in their motoGP organisation. I think Rossi's only hope now is that Ducati tunes 3 motors to run up to 20.000rpm and last just for 1 race, and produce something like 2007 (+20Hp) in the first 3 races. They have to worry less for the embarassement of running out of engines and start at the end of the grid for a few races , than what they are experiencing now. Ducati's fan base and owners are very race related. Since they pulled out of WSBK and if they do badly in motoGP , I think that they will lose many sales to Aprilia, for those looking for Italian bikes with character............. They have to think about something fast . | ||
| Trojan |
If Ducati have failed so far to put to the test the *flex package* , then there is something wrong in their motoGP organisation. Ducati have faced some unique problems this winter, som eof which can be traced back to the poor test riders they have had in the past (including Stoner unfortuinately). They have for years managed to make their bike competitive because Stoner basically rode around problems and eitehr crashed or won. Now they have a rider who can give them detailed and technical feedback in order to change the bike, and they just don't have enough time to change everything! Secondly, Rossi has been below par and slow in testing due to injury, and you can only really test racing bikes at racing speeds. It is all well and good having two test riders developing parts, but unless they are riding at the same speed as Rossi (which they patently are not!) then they won't get the same problems. I'm sure if I rode the GP11 I would think it is the best handling bike ever built, but wouldn't be going fast enough to actually get near to finding the problems. So far Rossi has tried to change thebke to suit his style. This hasn't worked in the time available and they obvioulsy don't think that the flex package is good enough to replace the previuos 'frame' yet. So now they have to go back to plan B (or D or E), and they have to wheel out an updated version of last years chassis and Rossi will have to adapt his riding style to suit the bike instead. De Puniet has shown that if you 'ride it like you stole it' the Ducati can be at the front end of the pack, and I'm sure that when Rossi gets his race face on he will ride it however it takes to get on the podium The fact that all of the other team managers still think that Ducati/Rossi will be a big threat this year speaks more volumes than reams of conjecture and rumour in the press and on forums | ||
| Jaimec |
A friend of mine maintains that it was Stoner's flat track experience that helped him control the beast. This seemed to be validated by a recent interview with Rossi where he said he has to steer the bike with the rear wheel as the front has very poor feedback. That's all well and good but there's one problem with that... Nicky Hayden ALSO has extensive flat track experience and he's struggled with the bike from the beginning. However you look at it, the Ducati is a strange beast. I don't know if we (on the internet watching the races on television or from the stands) will ever REALLY know the whole story. | ||
| Trojan |
I think the real difference is that Stoner is very quick when riding any bike straight out of the box, but his development skills seem to be lacking compared to other top line riders. He tends to ride around problems very well but never gets to the bottom of technical problems so crashes trying to over ride them. It will be interesting to see how the technical development at Honda goes this year as I think Pedrosa is a much better development rider than Stoner and has a very pushy manager toget his point across to the bigwigs at HRC Hayden is still trying to get the Ducati to do what he wants it to do and to mould it to suit him, rather like Rossi has been trying to do during the winter. Unfortunately it looks as though the only way to ride the Ducati is to take it by the scruff of the neck and adapt your style to it rather than the other way round, hence randy De Puniet can put in fast times at the ragged edge in the final tests. Once the season starts then it will be interesting to see how things pan out within all the team dynamics |
