Interested in MotoGP?

[k14]

Hard to tell from the couch (at 12.30am after a few heingrenades) but the Yam does look like it turns better i.e. a better rate of turn for less lean - Stoner's thing is on its ear every corner and then trying to kill him on the way out. The power difference is pretty minor now.

Yeah the power difference could be down to 5-10hp. Stoner is a bit smaller than Rossi too (I think) so that will give him an advantage tucked in.

All this bs about stoner pretty much turning up to win the title, if that is the case then every one of Rossi's premier class titles were the same (cept his first one on the yammie). The NSR and the RC211V were by far the best bikes of their time, doesn't mean that it makes it any easier to win the championship. Yes you can win one race with a bit of blind luck, win a championship on luck?? Absolutely not. Being a racer myself (albeit at a totally different level, but similar principles apply) to win even a NZ championship requires so much planning, skill, preparation and not to mention being consistently the best racer out there. One moment of inattention or lost concentration can see the championship go down in flames. Stoner (and Hayden at that matter) won his championship through pure skill, determination and preparedness by his team and no one will ever convince me otherwise

[slowpoke]

I just read this article. Pedrosa's already tried the Bridgstones and he's fast.

http://www.crash.net/motorsport/moto...pneumatic.html

So are we now going to hear excuses from all the other riders, that to go fast you need to be on the Bridgestones? Pedrosa is the second rider to switch and as a result better lap times. Is in the head or in the rubber?

He was also testing the new pneumatic valve engine at the time, combined with the tyres and post race track familiarity makes it hard to read much into this.

Personally I reckon he's shown how fragile he is mentally. Lorenzo showed that Michie's were competitive at that track yet Pedrosa went backwards. Spitting the dummy in the dirt at this stage of the season is just crazy and will screw up any comparative analysis they wanted to do on bike development.

Lawson rode some pigs in his day too (Rainey after riding the 1000 kawa at Daytona: `but it slaps lock to lock off the banking' Lawson glares back `so f..n what?!') But the media always thought his bikes handled better than everybody elses, which pissed him off.
Bit of a head thing too right?, especially with front tyres and `feel'. Switching to Michelin fronts tires ended a few otherwise successful careers.

Haha, remember that upside down NSR with the fuel tank in the belly and exhausts over the top? A plug chop on that thing must have been a fuggin' nightmare! Would he spit the chewy half way through a season over tyres? Would he fuck, he wouldn't give his rivals that sort of mental advantage.

[NZsarge]

Spitting the dummy in the dirt at this stage of the season is just crazy and will screw up any comparative analysis they wanted to do on bike development.

It will though allow some development under race conditions prior to next season rather than switching at seasons end. This season is unlikely to see him champion anyway so may as well start getting all ya ducks in a row and hit the ground running from the get go next season.
I'm just wondering if this means the likes of Lorenzo will perhaps head the Bridgestone way too, could only strengthen Fiat Yamaha's situation.

[roogazza]

Lawson rode some pigs in his day too (Rainey after riding the 1000 kawa at Daytona: `but it slaps lock to lock off the banking' Lawson glares back `so f..n what?!') But the media always thought his bikes handled better than everybody elses, which pissed him off.
Bit of a head thing too right?, especially with front tyres and `feel'. Switching to Michelin fronts tires ended a few otherwise successful careers.

I also liked the way he switched to Honda for 89 from Yamaha in 88, and won the title again. (that pissed Gardner off !! ) similar to Rossi going to Yamaha 04. Gaz.

[gav]

Haha, remember that upside down NSR with the fuel tank in the belly and exhausts over the top? A plug chop on that thing must have been a fuggin' nightmare! Would he spit the chewy half way through a season over tyres? Would he fuck, he wouldn't give his rivals that sort of mental advantage.

But Lawson never rode that bike, if that's what your implying?

[Crasherfromwayback]

But Lawson never rode that bike, if that's what your implying?

No...but poor old Freddie Spencer had to!

[Crasherfromwayback]

I also liked the way he switched to Honda for 89 from Yamaha in 88, and won the title again. (that pissed Gardner off !! ) similar to Rossi going to Yamaha 04. Gaz.

You forgot the Cagiva switch too!

[gav]

I also liked the way he switched to Honda for 89 from Yamaha in 88, and won the title again. (that pissed Gardner off !! ) similar to Rossi going to Yamaha 04. Gaz.

Apparently Gardner only learnt that Lawson had signed with Honda while reading a newspaper in an airport! Imagine how he must have felt !?

[slowpoke]

But Lawson never rode that bike, if that's what your implying?

My rose coloured glasses obviously need a bit of cleaning! Sorry, yeah, Spencer had the joy of taming that thing, and somehow managed to win a few GP's on it.

[roogazza]

I was at a little re-union Sat night and funny enough were chatting about those years. A mate worked on the Honda team around 85 and Spencer. He was saying Honda believed at the time, in getting the weight low, hence the tank under the engine ! They couldn't get it to work . Gardner arrived and helped develope it into his title winner of 87. Gaz.

[slowpoke]

I was at a little re-union Sat night and funny enough were chatting about those years. A mate worked on the Honda team around 85 and Spencer. He was saying Honda believed at the time, in getting the weight low, hence the tank under the engine ! They couldn't get it to work . Gardner arrived and helped develope it into his title winner of 87. Gaz.

Isn't that when Burgess arrived on the scene? Anyone spot the beginning of a trend here?

I'm guessing the hangover is nearly gone then Gaz?

[svr]

Weight distribution and C of G (fore/aft, up/down) is the big fiddle for lap times - there is software that calculates laptimes based on C of G movement for each track, so not such a black art anymore, I guess...

[roogazza]

Isn't that when Burgess arrived on the scene? Anyone spot the beginning of a trend here?

I'm guessing the hangover is nearly gone then Gaz?

Burgess was probably still riding himself ?

Motorcycles huh , who would have thought we'd still be tight as a group 40 years on ? Gaz.

[slowpoke]

Burgess was probably still riding himself ?

Motorcycles huh , who would have thought we'd still be tight as a group 40 years on ? Gaz.

I think Gardner was Burgess's first HRC experience as spanner twirler, but my rose coloured glasses could well be all skewiff again...

Yup, bikes transcend a lot of barriers eh? Doesn't matter how much money you've got, how old you are, what your background is, it all goes out the window when you start riding/talkin' bikes.

[Cajun]

2009 stuff

I chatted with Valentino Rossi yesterday afternoon in Las Vegas and brought up the much-rumored subject of Nick Hayden leaving Honda and joining Ducati's MotoGP team for 2009.

Rossi was nearly adamant that Hayden has signed a contract to race for Marlboro Ducati next season as a teammate to Casey Stoner.

"I think that situation is completed, it is finalized," Rossi said of Hayden joining Ducati after nearly ten years with Honda.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Sep/080909a.htm

FAUSTO GRESINI CONFIRMS ALEX DE ANGELIS FOR 2009

After a season together in MotoGP, Alex De Angelis and Fausto Gresini have recently signed a new contract for the forthcoming 2009 MotoGP World Championship.

De Angelis' confirmation as a rider of the Faenza-based team is the result of a strengthened relationship of common confidence developed during the 2008 season. It has been a year in which Alex has demonstrated his potential, his willingness to gain experience and to grow in the top class of Motorcycle racing, conquering two fourth places in Mugello and at the Sachsenring Grand Prix.

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Sep/080909n.htm