| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
This is shaping up to be an interesting race weekend. Rossi was fastest in Free Practice 2 and Hayden was second fastest in Free Practice 3. What I would like to see is Rossi returning to his old form and Ducati finding the missing link to getting their bikes as fast as the Hondas and Yamahas. What I expect to happen is the Ducks will run well for 5 or 6 laps before using up their tires and the rat weasel will probably take the win. I can still hope, however. | ||
| Gaesati |
Hope that the rat weasel will take the win? Unfortunately, it might be Crutchlow. A man who really deserves it. One wonders what the big C would be like if he could get through practice without damaging himself. The man has real grit. | ||
| Jaimec |
I've come to the conclusion that Dani isn't THAT bad. It's his manager "Spooge" who is the Devil Incarnate. | ||
| Trojan |
Unfortunately, it might be Crutchlow Why unfortunately? Cal has shown he deserves a factory contract from Yamaha pretty soon or they will lose hime to Suzuki or Ducati. Another stunning performance from him today and he is making the boys in the blue yamaha garage look a bit silly really. Although both Lorenzo and Rossi had bike problems during the last qualifying session Cal has been up there all weekend in merit  Maybe Tech 3 and Factory Yamaha should swap bikes. Another gritty ride by Bradley Smith too It would be good to see a Ducati get to teh front tomorrow just to hold the race up for a bit and stop the usual suspects from getting away too far at the front. Nicky has qualified well but they have shown before that they can't translate a fast lap into a good race pace, so I expect him and Dovi to fade as the race goes on. Can anyone beat Pedrosa? Looks unlikely unless someone can get in front and spoil his race. | ||
| Gaesati |
If anybody deserves a factory ride its Crutchlow. If Lorenzo manages to monster Dani in the first corner again the there will be a race. The podium fight will be a cracker though. | ||
| Trojan |
If Lorenzo manages to monster Dani in the first corner again the there will be a race. The podium fight will be a cracker though. prophetic words indeed Not the most exciting race in terms of overtakes but Dani was under pressure for sure! Good race for Bradley Smith and shame for Cal  Won't say any more.... | ||
| Trojan |
so Suzuki have finally announced......they won't be back until 2015 despite showing up at Catalunya for the post Gp test with two bikes and full crew! Somebody should tell them either to join in or forget it completely, as testing a bike for two years really isn't the same as racing and rule changes and advances by other top teams will completely negate all their test data. Personally I think they are waiting for Dorna to relax their 'no money' policy for new teams, or for an established team to offer to take the reins of the Suzuki effort. De Puniet was 2.2 seconds off Crutchlows best time in this mornings test. Ahead of the CRT's bt a long way off the other prototypes testing (Pedrosa and Marquez don't appear to be on the time sheets, nor does Lorenzo so far). | ||
| Jaimec |
Why does Bautista seem to have a bull's eye painted on the sides of the factory Yamahas??? | ||
| Trojan |
Bautista has an appalling record of ccrashing into other people and yesterdays was just another 'brain out' first lap moment that he seems to have made his signature move! The only time he ever appears in the top 6 is when he is doing his first lap skud missile impression! If race direction don't do something he is likely to hurt one of the front runners before long. I'm sure he won't be a feature in MotoGP next year (I'm sure there are plenty of good riders capable of outperforming him on that factory Honda) but this season still has plenty of time to go yet and he could still do some serious damage There was a lot of talk pre-season about the new 'yellow card' warning system but it hasn't been used yet, so come on guys, grow some cojones and give Bautista a stern talking to! | ||
| Jaimec |
Hmmmmm... this might be the closest we'll ever see of Dovi admitting that maybe that Rossi guy knew what he was talking about? http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2013/Dovizioso+wants +a+big+change | ||
| 46champ |
Can't they give someone a ride thru penalty. I know every one bad mouths NASCAR but you send someone to the back of the pack the type A personalities calm right down. Bautista might need a couple of trips. | ||
| Simond |
Can't they give someone a ride thru penalty. Not if they're sitting in the gravel trap. I think the Mugello incident was pretty much 50/50 if viewed in isolation but was an indicator of the fact that Bautista is under pressure and wants to make an impression on the first lap before the front runners leave him behind. Yesterday's crash was a different story. What's worse is that he then blames the riders in front for holding him up....... on the first lap! At least Cal had the honesty to accept the blame for his own crash. (Message edited by SimonD on June 17, 2013) | ||
| Jaimec |
Just read that one of the support classes at Indianapolis this year will be FIM eRoadRacing! That should be interesting (more interesting to me than the tractor races they've had the past couple of years anyway). What I'd REALLY like to see as a support class would be SIDECAR, but that doesn't look like it'll ever happen. http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2013/Jun/130617a.ht m | ||
| Svh |
Up until 3yrs ago or so there was sidecar racing during the AMA weekend at Road America. Disappeared though. | ||
| Crusty |
Two years ago, the "Tractor Races" were the most exciting races of the weekend. It doesn't matter if the bikes are slow (Moto 3 bikes are slower than the GP bikes),the racing is close and the bikes are pretty much equal. It comes down to who is the better racer, not which is the better bike. | ||
| Trojan |
Electric bike racing is very very boring I can assure you. Apart from some marginal technical interest, the sight of half a grid (or less) of silent bikes parading round at relatively slow speeds isn't that spectacular. Some are not much more than garden shed specials (albeit very clever ones) so the actual 180mph speeds will probably be done only in a single publicised flying practice lap by one of the top 2/3 bikes only. the rest will be around 50mph or more slower. Actual race speeds will be a lot slower to preserve battery life. Take away the sound and smell of racing motorcycles and you might as well race slot cars or soap boxes | ||
| Jaimec |
Well, it did give us time to go get refreshments once the bikes cleared off the front straight... By the way, the fastest time EVER recorded at Pikes Peak by a two-wheeler was just set by an electric motorcycle. | ||
| Trojan |
By the way, the fastest time EVER recorded at Pikes Peak by a two-wheeler was just set by an electric motorcycle. Going fast ins't a problem. Electric drag bikes have been fast for a while now. The problem is going fast for reasonable distance. Ask John McGuinness after his defeat at the TT by Rutter a 'slower' bike. Electric bikes at the TT JUST manage to do a single lap on the power they have available, Even with sophistacated recovery systems linked to brakes etc. Even then they have to slow down and go into energy saving mode throughout most of the lap. Until they improve the technology significantly that isn't racing to me (nor are electric road vehicles a practical solution yet for the same reason), just an eco challenge for scientists. I'm sure they will try to make it exciting with all the usual Indy razzamatazz, but to me it is not like watching 'proper' bikes with loud engines maybe if they put something in the spokes like we used to do with our bicycles when we were kids? So here is my solution to the boredom of silent motorcycle racing...... http://www.turbospoke.com/ | ||
| Xb1125r |
there was something wrong with the track or the tires, too many guys going off on turn 10 does not seem right. | ||
| Trojan |
There has been a lot of criticism of the new soft front tyre from leading riders, with all of them saying that they saved a few slides every lap. The problem is that the hard front tyre they had before was no good either, so I think we are at another of thoswe periods in racing where tyre technology needs to cathc up with bike performance (in particular in edge grip and huge lean angles). I don't know if you saw Pol Espagaro's rear tyre after the Moto2 race? It was destroyed on the right side and probably would not have completed another lap! Having said that, Catalunya is extreme in terms of fast right corners and hot conditions, so we probably won't see the same tyre degredation again this year. Crutchlow says his crash was caused by him hitting the inside kerb by mistake, and Bautistas crash was just because he is a complete idiot who can't think past the first lap of a GP, so not all crashes were due to the tyre or turn 10 in particular Assen will be a lot easier for tyre technicians thats for sure, and Bautista can look forward to practicing running into Lorenzo again at turn one | ||
| Xb1125r |
I dont think Lorenzo has to worry, since he starts on the first row unlike the guy on row 3 with a bke that should be on row one | ||
| Trojan |
There seems to be a ridiculous school of thought that appears to say that if Rossi starts on row three he deserves to get punted off by an idiotic rider who should know better, and that somehow he is to blame for Bautista running him off? Superbikeplanet seemed to have the same idea. Yes he would be safer if he qualified higher and seemingly out of harms way, but remember Bautista still managed to torpedo Lorenzo at Assen last year, and he WAS on the front row. The fault lies squarely with the guy who takes you out, not with the poor guy who gets skittled. The most annoying thing about this and previous incidents is that Bautista still thinks he did nothing wrong! That is the biggest single reason to give him another ban until he realises that he is the one getting it very wrong on a regular basis! As for Rossi, he seems to have found an answer to his braking problems with full tanks (as has Crutchlow) at the last test, so we'll see how he goes at Assen | ||
| Jaimec |
After reading this article, I had a wicked thought: http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/yamaha-seam less-gearbox-arrival-motogp/ What if Yamaha is already using a seamless gearbox, and is somehow simulating that sound to throw off the trackside observers?? | ||
| Jaimec |
Speaking of Crutchlow... after MONTHS of bitching about not having the same frame as the factory boys he FINALLY gets a chance to try it... and decides to stick with his old frame after all. So what's the NEXT thing he's going to bitch and whine about?? | ||
| Trojan |
Speaking of Crutchlow... after MONTHS of bitching about not having the same frame as the factory boys he FINALLY gets a chance to try it... and decides to stick with his old frame after all. Actually that isn't quite true.....The frame he tested last week (and didn't like)was the same frame that Lorenzo and Rossi rejected earlier in the year at the pre season test in Malaysia, so isn't the same as used by the factory bikes in races at all this year. In fact Lorenzo now has a completely different frame/fuel tank arrangement on his bike that neither Rossi nor Crutchlow have access to yet, that sits lower and further back than the other examples (hence Lorenzo doesn't suffer the same full tank braking issues that the others have either). Bradley Smith doesn't even have the same level of equipment as Crutchlow, and is a couple of variations further down the food chain, so people criticising brad for relatively poor performance compared to his team mate need to remember the level of equipment available to each rider! Crutchlow HAS to bitch and moan to get the parts he wants. If he sits back and waits patiently he simply won't get them. Look at what happened last year when Dovi got new brakes and he didn't? It wa sonloy when he complained publicly that the team relented and gave him the uprated brakes. It is just part of his character to be vocal about things rather than toe the company line, and that is one of the things that is making him popular with fans and why DORNA are very keen to get him on a factory Yamaha next year. He does like to be the underdog, so if he ever got full factory status I don't know whot hat would affect his mindset at all | ||
| Simond |
What about Crutchlow on a Honda? Would it suit him? Is Bradl's position in jeopardy or are they already looking elsewhere? | ||
| Trojan |
I believe that Bradl and Bautista both have contracts that don't expire until the end of 2014, and that Bradl is conracted directly to HRC rather than LCR. That is why there are so few options for Cal (and others) for next year. It could of course happen that one of them gets sacked and his contract is torn up, but I doubt it. Bautista was rumoured to be leaving last year but the sponsor wanted him to stay (regardless of results it seems!). The second Gresini bike is up for grabs next year although that is likely to be a customer Honda, so Cal won't want that anyway (Scott Redding is in the frame for that one it seems). I think Cal will remain at Yamaha for next year, maybe even as a 3rd factory rider but within the Tech 3 team? | ||
| Jaimec |
Dovi didn't just get the new brakes... he paid for them out of his own pocket. Cal didn't feel he should have to, so he just bitched and moaned. He COULD have had them much sooner if he'd done the same thing. What I'm wondering is: If Tech3 relented and gave him the new brakes, did Dovi get a refund?? | ||
| Trojan |
Cal didn't feel he should have to, so he just bitched and moaned. He COULD have had them much sooner if he'd done the same thing. Justifyably so don't you think? If you are sigend to a top team in MotoGP you really shouldn't have to shell out your own cash for bike parts! Dovi should never have had to think about buying new brakes (I think a personal sponsor actually bought them rather than Dovi writing a cheque) and nor should Cal. If Crutchlow hadn't publicly complained about the situation would he ever have got them at all? However....rumour has it that Lorenzo actually paid for the new fuel tank on his Yamaha out of his own meagre resources. Like him or hate him, Crutchlow is very straight talking and tells it like it is. That may come across as bitching and moaning to some. However, it isn't like the kind of moaning we got from a certain retired Australian, who limited his moaning to complaints about most of the other riders, all of the fans and the entire media! | ||
| Jaimec |
What put me off about that certain Australian was he bitched and moaned even though he was WINNING. People wonder why Rossi is so popular? Just compare his interviews after a bad race vs. Stoner's (excluding recent circumstances with a certain Honda satellite rider, of course). |
