| Author | Message | ||
     Steeleagle |
To have Toprak jump to BMW after good results and a possible bump to GP leads me to think there's something else in the stew. Gerloff made the jump after years at Yamaha. Currently both jumps are WTFs to me, but I'm betting BMW steps up their game. We shall see. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
BMW definitely seems to be upping the ante in both MA and WSBK. Not sure what their presence is in BSB...don't follow that series. I personally think Toprak is the guy who will get the Beemer to the podium if anyone can...he was winning on the satellite Kawi team (beating JR at times) and then he won the championship on the Yamaha. Let's see what he can do on the Beemer. | ||
| Jaimec |
Damn. I really thought Toprak would've been more competitive at this track... | ||
| Jaimec |
Another Bautista sweep. At this point, the only thing that can prevent him from getting another championship is himself. Everyone else is competing for second. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Looks like it's time for WSBK to tweek the RPMs again. Something needs to be done! | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Toprak breaks Bautista's winning streak in the Superpole race at Donnington. What a race. I don't think Toprak would have lasted one more lap in front. (Message edited by fresnobuell on July 03, 2023) | ||
| Jaimec |
Yeah, we saw that in the second full length race... | ||
| Jaimec |
Hmmmm... https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/worldsbk-duca ti-and-kawasaki-rev-limits-adjusted-ahead-of-imola / | ||
| Fresnobuell |
It's too late and I doubt 250 RPMs will make much of a difference anyway. The product is suffering and the only fans enjoying it are the Ducatistis. | ||
| Jaimec |
Gerloff took out his team mate again... but he was third fastest overall today! | ||
| Jaimec |
FINALLY! A chink in Bautista's armor. Toprak is a fighter and will never give up. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
The Superpole race has become the most anticipated race of the weekend--only because the competition to Bautista can keep up for 10 laps. Race 2 was interesting only because Buatista crashed on the first lap. Even the commentators made a comment that the feature length races can be entertaining if Bautista is out. The Ducati is easy on tires and with Bautista as the rider even more so. That is the main reason why he checks out in the last half of the feature length races. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I heard that and immediately thought of when Gerloff took out Toprak. Also, it was interesting that Toprak was very careful when he was passing teammate Locatelli in the SuperPole race, but eventually had to barge thru since Bautista was about to check out in the lead. Great race. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Well shit. Toprak was clawing his way back towards Bautista in the standings, then he crashed out of the lead in Race 2. Up until he crashed he was doing a nearly miraculous job of keeping Bautista behind by out braking him at the end of the front straight for about 14 laps. Then JUST when he got outside of +0 territory in front of Bautista, Toprak crashed. Another case of Toprak having to ride past the limit to keep up with the Ducati. I am just bummed because it eliminates any drama that might have been left for the rest of the season. | ||
| Jaimec |
Actually, it wasn't his fault. Seems the Pirelli tire delaminated and fell apart on him. https://www.crash.net/wsbk/news/1032544/1/razgatli oglu-i-don-t-know-why-tyre-thisi-am-just-very-surp rised | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Well, that would explain his perplexed look after the crash. He looked like a racer at the peak of his powers prior to the crash, so it was definitely a mysterious situation. Thanks for the article. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
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| Jaimec |
Woah! This is HUGE!! https://www.crash.net/wsbk/news/1035120/1/official -jonathan-rea-leaves-kawasaki | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Crazy that the Kawi went from the best bike in the paddock to arguably the worst in just a few short years. One would think without any GP efforts they would continue to field a competitive team in WSBK. I have been watching some "classic" GP back from the mid-2000s and it kinda makes me sad to see the Suzuki and Kawi factory teams that are no longer. | ||
| Jaimec |
"The worst?" Pretty sure that title still belongs to Honda... This holds true even in MotoGP these days. I think the only reason they lead Yamaha in the manufacturer's standings is because they have more bikes on the grid with more opportunities to score points otherwise they would be dead last in that series. | ||
| Jaimec |
Redding and Gerloff to be team mates. Loris Baz is without a ride. https://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/2023/Redding%20co nfirmed%20at%20Bonovo%20Action%20BMW%20as%20van%20 der%20Mark%20partners%20Razgatlioglu%20for%202024 | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I think Scott Redding is over the hill. More of a name than anything at this point. Gerloff is not good enough to be competitive at the WSBK level. Not impressed by either rider. | ||
| Jaimec |
Gerloff was the fastest BMW-mounted rider at the last round... | ||
| Fresnobuell |
That's one round. In general, he's not competitive. | ||
| Jaimec |
Fastest BMW again in Argentina during FP1; good enough for fourth fastest time overall. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
They are in Aragon this weekend, which is a great track. Let's see if GG can have some decent race results. No one gets any hardware for being fast in FP. He pulled a pole position out of his butt last round, but finished 4th, DNF & 5th in the races.... | ||
| Jaimec |
Damn, why did I think they were in Argentina? Too much rushing around this morning getting ready to head down to Millville for the MotoAmerica finale. I hear Tim (Smoke) is here, but I haven't run into him yet. | ||
| Jaimec |
Gerloff was fastest BMW again, though he dropped down to sixth from fourth in the first practice session. The two Bonovo riders (Gerloff and Baz) were faster than the two factory riders as a matter of fact! Gerloff even edged out Toprak though I don't see that happening in the races... | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Toprak will get pulled by the fastest Beemers and Ducs on the massive back straight at Aragon....still one of my fav tracks. | ||
| Jaimec |
The top three are on the front row. Gerloff made the Top 10 and is once again the fastest BMW-mounted rider. He and team mate Baz also out-qualified the factory duo again too. |
