“MotoGP not boring” says FIM President

[Bob]

FIM president Vito Ippolito has hit back at criticism from Valentino Rossi that MotoGP is ‘boring’. Ippolito claimed a range of changes will be made in 2014 to limit the influence of electronics.

Ippolito said “I think he’s (Rossi) talking about technology. Sometimes too much of technology diminishes the human flair (on a bike). But this is under discussion. I hope, especially, in 2014 we will have new regulations which will allow to the riders to show more of their (natural riding) skill.”

[HenryDorsetCase]

They get more like the UCI every day.
So, the question is: is this prototype racing where the deepest pockets and cleverest people win, or is it NASCAR or taxi racing aka Veeeee Oits.

It depends if you like the technical stuff (which of course we as punters can't see, and only read about a couple years later in Motocourse or when Kevin Cameron writes an article about it) or are we beer swilling, couch dwelling , quasi-Mrkns "consuming" a "product" which is completely artificially regulated?

[willytheekid]

...motowot??




....unless......... IS MIKE DOOHAN AND THE "REAL" MOTOGP BIKES COMING BACK!!!???

....no?...then they can shove there "computer controlled" boring arsed racing (BRING BACK THE 500 2T MONSTERS!!**)



**Valentino Rossi himself was quoted as saying the 500 2t's where the most angry, scary, powerful bike he has every ridden!, so much raw un controlled power, that if you just crack the throttle, the bike will flip so fast!...it will break your back!!
(Now THATS a bike that requires the best of the best to pilot...the current riders are not even in the same league as Rainy/Swantz/Doohan etc...these guys...true GODS of speed & Skill)


...I like watching the craziest most skillful riders on the planet...and they sure as shit arn't riding motogp! >(Isle of man!!!...anyone wanna argue THAT fact!)

[Crasherfromwayback]

:**Valentino Rossi himself was quoted as saying the 500 2t's where the most angry, scary, powerful bike he has every ridden!, so much raw un controlled power, that if you just crack the throttle, the bike will flip so fast!...it will break your back!!
(Now THATS a bike that requires the best of the best to pilot...the current riders are not even in the same league as Rainy/Swantz/Doohan etc...these guys...true GODS of speed & Skill)


...I like watching the craziest most skillful riders on the planet...and they sure as shit arn't riding motogp! >(Isle of man!!!...anyone wanna argue THAT fact!)

Dude...hate to tell you this (cause you're a nice guy), but whilst the 500's were obviously harder to ride, the 1000's are way faster despite what people think. And the riders of today, are every bit as good as the riders of years gone by. It's not their fault they're not proving it on 500's though. But they would don't worry. And the Isle of Mann riders being the best in the world? You're kidding yourself. They're simply the maddest.

[willytheekid]

Dude...hate to tell you this (cause you're a nice guy), but whilst the 500's were obviously harder to ride, the 1000's are way faster despite what people think. And the riders of today, are every bit as good as the riders of years gone by. It's not their fault they're not proving it on 500's though. But they would don't worry. And the Isle of Mann riders being the best in the world? You're kidding yourself. They're simply the maddest.

Yup the 1000's are faster!...but with...Launch control, skid control, computer assisted brakes, slipper clutches, engine managment, fuel injection and onboard computers...you MUST admit that its becoming a bloody JOKE!

...and as for the Isle of man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOuh6D5Q_4I
THATS RIDING SKILLS!...MotoGP, sorry mate, like thousands around the world now...not impressed! (Just like formula one...the team with the $$$ gets the best computer controlled toy...and wins!)

...Bring back the 500 2ts!!, animal bikes that actually require a very VERY delicate and skilled hand to pilot...so much so...Rossi himself was shit scared of them and wondered how Mike, Rainy and Co stayed ALIVE for so long!

....so sorry Pete...Im for the Old school riders and Road racers...They have to work harder to stay alive AND in the lead, and that, takes a shit load more skill than using computer assited everything! to get your arse around a track


(But beer in mind Im getting Old and totally ignorant of the facts lol...damn you for bringing facts into an argument!...have you been talking to my missis??)

[Crasherfromwayback]

Yup the 1000's are faster!...but with...Launch control, skid control, computer assisted brakes, slipper clutches, engine managment, fuel injection and onboard computers...you MUST admit that its becoming a bloody JOKE!

...and as for the Isle of man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOuh6D5Q_4I
THATS RIDING SKILLS!...MotoGP, sorry mate, like thousands around the world now...not impressed! (Just like formula one...the team with the $$$ gets the best computer controlled toy...and wins!)

...Bring back the 500 2ts!!, animal bikes that actually require a very VERY delicate and skilled hand to pilot...so much so...Rossi himself was shit scared of them and wondered how Mike, Rainy and Co stayed ALIVE for so long!

....so sorry Pete...Im for the Old school riders and Road racers...They have to work harder to stay alive AND in the lead, and that, takes a shit load more skill than using computer assited everything! to get your arse around a track


(But beer in mind Im getting Old and totally ignorant of the facts lol...damn you for bringing facts into an argument!...have you been talking to my missis??)

I'd love to see the 500 smokers back more than anyone mate...but it ain't gonna happen. But don't think for a minute Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner etc couldn't kick arse on one. I mean you do realize those guys have beaten Rossi eh? You know...an ex 500cc world Champ? What does that tell you?

[jellywrestler]

And the Isle of Mann riders being the best in the world? You're kidding yourself. They're simply the maddest.

Don't think they're the maddest; just real good at that type of racing which to me is a harder one to perfect given the limited practice and allowing for changeable conditions must be the most difficult aspect of it all

[willytheekid]

I'd love to see the 500 smokers back more than anyone mate...but it ain't gonna happen. But don't think for a minute Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner etc couldn't kick arse on one. I mean you do realize those guys have beaten Rossi eh? You know...an ex 500cc world Champ? What does that tell you?

I certainly do acknowledge that the likes of Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner are absolutely AMAZING! GP riders , but far to much rider skill/Input has being replaced by computers nowdays.

I used to LOVE watching superbikes and MotoGP...but once they started to introduce more and more computer hardware...the "thrill" of watching seemed to diminish...it got...well...boring!.


...but this is all absolutely mute due to the pathetic! TV coverage we get in NZ for this and most other motor sports...friiggin rugby rugby rugby!
(My other pet gripe with Bike racing in NZ...no bloody coverage ...thank god for the interweb and dedicated race fans/sponsors etc posting stuff up)



For now, I will stick with following road racing, Isle of man, and kiwi riders making a go of it ...Oh...and the robot fighting league (...yes...I know Im a geek...)

...stay well mate

[Crasherfromwayback]

Don't think they're the maddest; just real good at that type of racing which to me is a harder one to perfect given the limited practice and allowing for changeable conditions must be the most difficult aspect of it all

I have the greatest amount of respect for the peeps that race there...it certainly takes a special sort of racer to want to race there. As you know, I know a reg very well. But I still think the very best in the world end up on GP bikes.

But a diff skill set for sure.

[300weatherby]

So, out of the current crop of top Motogp and World Supers riders, lets include last year, who would be at the front on 500's as the were at the end, no cleverness allowed from "now",and who would be further down?

At the front: Stoner- could ride the wheels off the animal Ducati, no one else can
: Biaggi- has done it before and is a nutbar too boot
: Iannone- mad as a box of frogs, he would get in there from out of left field

Midpack: Rossi: has done it before, but got used to the "package" and then the Ducati fucked him
: Edwards would suprise, much experience on lesser equipment and been on top with it
: Sykes might be a suprise to

Further down: Lorenzo- needs the electronics to be his smooth metronome best
: Pedrosa- being a midget would help the bike, but does he have the nerve?

Everyone's got an opinion........................

[Zedder]

Don't think they're the maddest; just real good at that type of racing which to me is a harder one to perfect given the limited practice and allowing for changeable conditions must be the most difficult aspect of it all

Yep. To me, they're similar to aircraft test pilots working "on the edge" and doing things where most others don't go.

[Crasherfromwayback]

So, out of the current crop of top Motogp and World Supers riders, lets include last year, who would be at the front on 500's as the were at the end, no cleverness allowed from "now",and who would be further down?

At the front: Stoner- could ride the wheels off the animal Ducati, no one else can
: Biaggi- has done it before and is a nutbar too boot
: Iannone- mad as a box of frogs, he would get in there from out of left field

Midpack: Rossi: has done it before, but got used to the "package" and then the Ducati fucked him
: Edwards would suprise, much experience on lesser equipment and been on top with it
: Sykes might be a suprise to

Further down: Lorenzo- needs the electronics to be his smooth metronome best
: Pedrosa- being a midget would help the bike, but does he have the nerve?

Everyone's got an opinion........................

Stoner would be perfectly suited to a 5 hundy being an ex dirt tracker and well used to riding GP bikes sideways. But I also believe Lorenzo is easily good enough. You don't have to be wild to race the 500's. Eddie Lawson was very much like Lorenzo in style. Smooth and controlled.

[BMWST?]

...I like watching the craziest most skillful riders on the planet...

I will bite.one does not need to be crazy,to be skilled...or visa versa.but a liitle bit of crazy can perhaps make up for some skill.And i bet there are a couple of modern day riders who would be able to tame those 500s...lets see what happens if the wind back the TC on the thous...we may have more synchronised high sides.

[SPman]

It all sounds a bit like F1 and the turbo cars

“I was always a big fan of the turbos, where you needed a completely different driving style. In a normally-aspirated car, it’s like F3, in that you use the throttle through the whole corner, but with the turbos it was much more defined: you braked in a straight line, turned the car in, tried to get it straight as soon as possible, allowed for the turbo delay as you put the throttle down – and if you were a fraction wrong, you found yourself going backwards! I loved that…”

or

“I’ve driven several 2.4-litre V8 F1 cars, and they all feel gutless – and without torque. In the turbo era I drove 1250bhp F1 cars with no grip, and then V10s with 900, so 750bhp, with what appears to be ultimate grip, ain’t going to shock you…

at least they banned traction control in F1!

..... deals with the era of pre-MotoGP motorcycle racing from 1988 to 1993, when the bikes – 500s – were brutally overpowered, electronic ‘rider aids’ (like traction control) unknown, and the sport’s dominant figures – Rainey, Schwantz, Lawson, Gardner, Doohan – were from either the USA or Australia, where they’d learned their trade on dirt tracks, and had no fear of the bike ‘stepping out’.

Traction control has done much to damage the spectacle of bike racing in the modern era, and it’s a blessing that, having had a similar effect in F1, the FIA took the step of banning it some years ago. During the turbo days, it had yet to rear its ugly head in F1, which is one of the reasons why those who witnessed Grand Prix racing at that time get dewy-eyed about it. Trust me, if ever you saw a qualifying lap by Gilles Villeneuve or Ayrton Senna around Monaco, the memory will abide for ever

[HenryDorsetCase]

I'd love to see the 500 smokers back more than anyone mate...but it ain't gonna happen. But don't think for a minute Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner etc couldn't kick arse on one. I mean you do realize those guys have beaten Rossi eh? You know...an ex 500cc world Champ? What does that tell you?

That Vale is getting old?

Here's an interesting thing, I went to a boxing fight night a week or so ago, and got to talking to the dudes standing next to me, as you do. We were chatting about sports in general, and I said my standard thing which is that I dont follow stick and ball sports as I find them tedious, and in answer to the question "Oh, what sport do you follow" my answer was motorcycle racing. And he says "Oh yeah, um, that guy Rossi, he's pretty good, eh?".

What that demonstrates to me is that even with his has-been (no disrespect) status of the last few years, his is the only name known to people outside the sport. He didnt know any other names, not even Stoner.

Pretty unscientific I know, but interesting to me.