| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta agrees the current MotoGP tire rule was an error: http://www.speedtv.com/articles/moto/motogp/39712/ Maybe now something will be done to salvage 2008? | ||
| Jimidan |
I would like to see Josh Herrin, Josh Hayes, Ben Spies and other young American riders in MotoGP. Nope...they can't have them. They are our performers in ama and we like watching them in person. Rodger Hayden has already shown the world that he can compete at the highest level, so there really is nothing to prove. | ||
| Dtx |
Anybody going to be at the Portugal GP race next month? I will be there! | ||
| Jaimec |
Two sobering articles regarding this weekend's MotoGP return to Misano: http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/Aug/070829xe.h tm http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2007/Aug/070830o.ht m | ||
| Trojan |
I didn't think I would say this, but the gP at Misano was the most boring of the year so far! (and there have been some pretty dull races already) The most exciting part of the whole race was seeing Stoner run out of fuel on the slow down lap! All credit to Stoner for another dominant performance, but about as exiting as watching paint dry. BBC commentators struggled for something to say over the course of the race, something unheard of for Charlie Cox! They even joined the growing chorus for a one make tyre rule in Moto GP just to make the series more exciting to watch. Yet again, Bridgestone runners filled the top 5 places with only Carlos Checa upholding any honour at all for Michelin in 6th place. Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden were particularly poor. Hayden ran off track on lap one, so i'm not sure if he sustained any damage from that, but his lap times were 3 seconds a lap slower than the leaders for most of the race. He even struggled to get away from Kurtis Roberts until Roberts ran off track for a second time. Edwards was really lucky to keep 9th place after being overtaken by Barros only for his D'Antin Ducati to break down next lap. I really hope that the factory Honda & Yamaha teams switch to Bridgestone next year. If that happens then Michelin will pull out of the series and leave a one make tyre series even without changing the rules  | ||
| Jaimec |
Honda already has a team that runs Bridgestones. If Yamaha is smart, they'll switch the Tech3 team to Bridgestone next year. It looks like Yamaha has already conceded 2007 to Ducati and Stoner; why else would Rossi be running a completely new, unproven engine? I think they're looking towards starting 2008 off in as best a position as they can. On the MotoGP page, there is an article saying that Michelin is open to signing on new teams next year. With their miserable performance this year they'll be lucky to keep what they have, I suspect. | ||
| Jaimec |
Here's something worthy of discussion: Did anyone else see that they plan on running the Qatar leg in 2008 AT NIGHT?? They're already planning on installing the floodlights to make this possible. Marco Melandri is reported as being FURIOUS this decision was made without discussing it with the racers. I know it works for baseball and tennis, but will it work with motorcycles doing 200mph or more? Would multiple, artificial light sources skew your perceptions of the track at those speeds? What do you think? Are there ANY road races held anywhere at night under artificial lighting? Other than 24-hour endurance races, that is... | ||
| Davegess |
Nicky Hayden is report to have said he was looking forward to it, it would remind him of flat tracking! | ||
| Jaimec |
But flat track is just a simple dirt oval, nothing like a MotoGP road course. | ||
| Davegess |
At least a motoGP course doesn't have any holes to miss;) | ||
| Trojan |
It appears that MotoGP organisers are just as worried over the tyre rules and boring racing as the rest of us. At a meeting following the Misano GP they instructed Michelin/Bridgestone/Dunlop representatives to get together and come up with a formula that will return to closer racing. If they fail to do so then the organisers will impose their own solution, although they have stopped short of supporting a single make tyre rule. About time too It also appears that Chaz Davies is a candidate for the remaining D'Antin Ducati seat alongside Randy de Puniet (a dangerous place to sit!). He impressed the team and Ducati at the Laguna GP, although he faces opposition from some other good young riders and some of the perrenial MotoGP space fillers such as Nakano. Ducati want to bring younger riders as a feeder to the factory team, so hopefully they will be brave and choose somebody with future potential rather than one of the older riders. | ||
| Davegess |
Go Chaz! | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I was at Misano, just came back! Once again I will support my opinion that it is not Bridgestones that are winning, it is basically Casey Stoner and the Ducati. Listening to the Ducati downshifting and accelerating was like F1. Suzuki is (at last) running very competitive bikes. Their last year's early problems start to pay off. Remember Hopkins kicking his bike after it broke down?? It is time for Yamaha to start doing the same, if they want to be competitive next year. Like in Turkey, HRC's bikes were taken out in the first lap, from a Kawa rider. So we had no chance to see what Michelin could do. Unless there is someone on this forum that thinks that Checa is the best rider on Michelins. The improved Gresini Hondas with Bridgestones were not going anywhere. I wish Ducati switch to Michelin. I think with Michelin, Stoner will go even faster. When Rossi retired the crowd went 100% silent for 1-2 minutes. That was impressive. Even the Ducati stand was not cheering ,but stayed silent. | ||
| Jaimec |
Just a theory here, but hear me out. For the 800 GP bikes, Michelin decided to switch to a 16" tire. Bridgestone, on the other hand, decided to stick with the 16.5" tire they used on the 990 GP bikes. That may not seem like much, BUT in an event where positions are determined by hundredths of a second, it could be the difference. The Michelins are making more rotations per lap than the Bridgestones. The smaller tire also has less cooling surface. Could THAT be what is going on? | ||
| Trojan |
According to Colin Edwards, the main problem with the current Michelin tyre is that they decided to go for a narrower tyre this year to aid 'flickability' and cornering. This has not worked, and the tyres do not put enough rubber down to give the best straight line performance and acceleration. This has meant that the tyres are spinning up far to easily and they cannot get drive. Edwards was firmly in favour of a one make tyre rule when interviewed on Sunday. He said he didn't care who the manufacturer was, Michelin, Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli or Metzeler would be fine by him providing they were all the same. The riders in favour of the curent rules are those who are geting the best out of them, that stands to reason. Stoner rode a perfect race once more for Ducati, but that isn't helping the spectacle of MotoGP and the current tyre situation has now lead to noticeably declining TV audiences and even reduced ticket sales at the races. On Sunday people were leaving the circuit with 23 laps left to race! Admittedly a lot of these people would have been Rossi fans, but this was also seen at Brno & Germany once the race got boring. Suzuki have improved by leaps and bounds in the last year, but their performance is flattered by the Bridgestone tyre, as is the Kawasaki (when it can remain upright long enough that is!). Honda have problems with the bike (so do Yamaha) which is why the Gresini bikes are not performing better. However they are consistently outperforming the factory Hondas when Melandri & Elias aren't injured. Even when Hayden got back on track after his first lap excursion he was over 3 seconds a lap slower than the leaders, so it is pretty obvious they have more problems than just tyres. Rossi has been brutally honest in his post race interviews, and said that even if his engine had lasted the distance he knew that he was fighting for third place at best right from the start. | ||
| Jaimec |
Michelin admits they've been asleep at the wheel: http://tinyurl.com/346tme If they do pull out, we'd have a de facto "One tire standard" after all! | ||
| Jaimec |
HAYDEN ON THE POLE!! Stoner second, Rossi breathing right down his back in third. Michelin is back! Heck, even Dunlop did well with Tamada in the number four position leading row 2 and Guintoli qualifying 8th ahead of Hopkins and Elias! Tomorrow's race might be exciting after all!} | ||
| Trojan |
Tomorrow's race might be exciting after all!} I certainly hope so, although judging by the practice times on race tyres, and Rossi's concerns over the Michelin race tyre longevity, I would not be surprised to see another Stoner whitewash today. During FP1 & FP2 he was able to do much longer runs at full race speed than any of the Michelin runners. | ||
| Smoke |
i'm hoping for some good back and forth racing between everybody for first place. it's a good day to watch as ama supersport and superbike are both going to settle their championships today too. go Nicky!! tim | ||
| Vagelis46 |
So Michelin is not that bad after all ??? I hope now the bull#@$# talk about Michelin, stops. I wonder what the race at San Marino would have been if the HRC bikes on Michelin were not taken out ??? Good to see Vale and Pedrosa fighting for the win till the last corner. Good to see Vale win and good to see a good performance from Hayden. | ||
| Jaimec |
Now THAT was what MotoGP is SUPPOSED to be! Passing and overtaking, and the winner isn't determined till the final flag! Michelin stepped up to the challenge (FINALLY), and the new Yamaha pneumatic valve engine shows it can run with the Ducati. Too bad it happened this late in the season. Unless Stoner does something monumentally stupid, he'll be the 2007 MotoGP champ, if not the next race then the one afterwards. | ||
| Trojan |
What an excellent race! Not just the top three, but all the way down the field. Plenty of overtaking and the result going right down to the wire. It was also touching to see Rossi dedicate his win to his friend and former world rally champion Colin McRae, who was killed on Saturday in a helicopter accident. So Michelin is not that bad after all ??? I hope now the bull#@$# talk about Michelin, stops. Michelin have caught up simply because teams were allowed to test after the Brno & Misano races. If the ridiculous tyre rules had allowed testing earlier in the year then we may have had a closer run championship. Next year it is almost certain that a lot more testing will be allowed, which can only be a good thing. | ||
| Smoke |
competitive racing is always fun to watch. pass and repass is the best. here's hoping that the rest of the season is similar to the event at estoril. tim | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I think that the extra tests helped Yamaha and especially HRC to catch up the Ducatis, and not Michelin to catch up with Bridgestones. It seems that HRC Honda closed the HP gap to Ducati. Pedrosa was staying with the GP7 down the straight. Or maybe Ducati is playing safe, not risking running out of gas and detuned their engine. I hope Chaz joins D'antin, and Ducati starts to evolve the GP8 for next year. Once again, Pedrosa failed to win a last lap fight with Rossi! I think Vale has a psyhological edge over Pedrosa. | ||
| Trojan |
I hope Chaz joins D'antin, and Ducati starts to evolve the GP8 for next year. Me too | ||
| Jaimec |
"I think that the extra tests helped Yamaha and especially HRC to catch up the Ducatis, and not Michelin to catch up with Bridgestones." Believe what you want. The press releases and rider interviews (including interviews with Michelin reps) tell a different story. | ||
| Trojan |
Latest news on Chaz Davies Chaz Davies is expected to ride in the last four races of the 2007 MotoGP world championship after German Alex Hofmann was axed last night from the D'Antin Ducati squad. Davies, who raced in the final round of the American Supersport and Formula Xtreme races in Laguna Seca yesterday (Sunday), will now fly to Japan to contest this weekend's Twin Ring Motegi GP with a deal expected to be confirmed later on today. He will also partner veteran Brazilian Alex Barros in Phillip Island, Sepang and Valencia after Hofmann was dumped following his controversial retirement from Sunday's Estoril GP in Portugal. Hofmann's sacking was confirmed in a statement released by the D'Antin team at midnight last night. The short statement read: "After the Grand Prix of Portugal, during which Alex Hofmann entered the pit boxes with 17 laps remaining, and said, "I don´t have the motivation to fight for the last positions', the team management of Pramac-d´Antin have decided to release Hofmann from his contractual obligations for the remainder of the 2007 MotoGP season." Hofmann retired from the 28-lap race citing a lack of motivation after he was running in last place and six seconds adrift of the field. His retirement incensed team boss Luis D'Antin, who acted swiftly to axe him for the remainder of the season and sign Davies as his replacement. If a deal is confirmed later today, it will be the second time this season that Davies has stepped in to replace Hofmann. The British rider was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for Hofmann in July's American GP in Laguna Seca after the former factory Kawasaki rider suffered a serious left hand injury in the opening practice session. Davies, who completed a two-day test session in Mugello last week and is being lined up for a test rider with Bridgestone and Ducati in 2008, spoke to MCN from Laguna Seca and said: "I have been contacted by Ducati and the team and it's all a bit of a shock. At the moment I'm waiting for an e-mail to confirm everything but obviously I'd love to do it. It would be awesome." D'Antin was livid after Hofmann inexplicably went public about the reasons why he had retired in Estoril. D'Antin couldn't hide his frustration and disappointment at Hofmann's actions and he said: "I think that lack of motivation is not an excuse for us, and therefore the team reserves the right to make a decision on whether or not he will continue racing with us for the remainder of the season." What had got D'Antin in such a rage was when Hofmann said: "Today was not my day. First, I had a problem with my A bike while I was going to the starting grid, so I had to come back into the pits and change to my B bike. After the race started and I saw I was six seconds back from the last person, I couldn't find the motivation to continue fighting only to remain last. I'm very sorry for reacting in this way." YEEEEEE HAAAAAAA | ||
| Trojan |
And from the same source Ben Spies will be given his first chance to impress on Suzuki’s factory GSV-R MotoGP machine when he tests at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia next month. MCN understands the newly crowned American superbike champion will ride in a test session on the Monday after the Malaysian MotoGP on October 21, 2007. Suzuki is keen to get him on their GSV-R 800 as much as possible before Spies makes a full-time switch to MotoGP in 2009. Ben Spies, who retained his American Superbike crown yesterday (Sunday) with a dramatic final round success over Aussie team-mate Mat Mladin in Laguna Seca, told MCN earlier this season that he already has a deal in place for a factory ride in 2009. But Suzuki management denied that an agreement had already in place. It has also been rumoured that Ben Spies could feature as a wild card with him tipped to make his MotoGP race debut for Suzuki in the season’s final race in Valencia. That now seems unlikely, but he is still expected to fly to Europe and take part in the traditional post Valencia test session. Rizla Suzuki team boss Paul Denning told MCN earlier this month: “He has a contract with Suzuki America for 2008 to ride in AMA but Suzuki globally very much wants to keep him in the fold and is seriously and genuinely considering options for the future to see him expand outside of America and onto a GP bike in the near future. “It is not at all clear how that structure might be achieved or even how the initial experience or testing may occur. But it’s very much the case that Suzuki wants to keep him in the fold and is considering the options to do so.” | ||
| Jaimec |
Stoner should wrap it up this weekend in Motegi unless a miracle happens. Bridgestone has ALWAYS run strong there (it's their home track). Rossi will have to make do with the rallying cry of New York Mets fans everywhere: "Wait'll NEXT year!" | ||
| Trojan |
Yamaha have signed with Michelin again for 2008, so must be confident that: 1. The rules will change enough to let them test more often 2. Michelin will be able to match the Bridgestone rubber next year. Michelin also appear confident that the factory Honda squad will be using their rubber in 2008 too. (Message edited by trojan on September 18, 2007) |
