MotoGP, Indianapolis

[Crasherfromwayback]

It's the tyres. Same thing happened with Crafar on the Red Bull 500GP was great on dunlops and they changed to Shitchelins the next year and that ended Simons GP racing

I always found that odd. Michelin was THE tyre to use...yet Simon simply couldn't get his head round them.

[gixerracer]

I always found that odd. Michelin was THE tyre to use...yet Simon simply couldn't get his head round them.

If you have done most of your racing on Dunlops which give a ridiculous amount of feedback which is important to any racer and then get on something that has amazing grip but Zero feedback untill the grip has gone it can be pretty hard to get your head around esp at the speed those guy's travel

[Crasherfromwayback]

If you have done most of your racing on Dunlops which give a ridiculous amount of feedback which is important to any racer and then get on something that has amazing grip but Zero feedback untill the grip has gone it can be pretty hard to get your head around esp at the speed those guy's travel

Yeah I dig all that. It's just that Crafar was (I thought) good enough to get to grips (scuse the pun) with them. I mean Spies going from Pirelli to Bridgestone etc etc. Going from a 250 back in the day to a 500. You know...change.

[Shaun]

If you have done most of your racing on Dunlops which give a ridiculous amount of feedback which is important to any racer and then get on something that has amazing grip but Zero feedback untill the grip has gone it can be pretty hard to get your head around esp at the speed those guy's travel

Yea mate, that sure fuked Simon

[steveyb]

It's the tyres. Same thing happened with Crafar on the Red Bull 500GP was great on dunlops and they changed to Shitchelins the next year and that ended Simons GP racing

Agreed. I have read somewhere that Dunlop (because the tyre rule in Moto 2 was (is?) more open than MotoGP) built special tyres for Toni due to his light weight and special style. In MotoGP he does not have that luxury.

[Crasherfromwayback]

Agreed. I have read somewhere that Dunlop (because the tyre rule in Moto 2 was (is?) more open than MotoGP) built special tyres for Toni due to his light weight and special style. In MotoGP he does not have that luxury.

Think you'll find that's bullshit. If I'm not wrong (and I have been so many times before), they had a control tyre in Moto 2 as well.

[gixerracer]

Think you'll find that's bullshit. If I'm not wrong (and I have been so many times before), they had a control tyre in Moto 2 as well.

Correct. I talked to Damien Cudlin after he rode Moto2 wild crad in last years Moto2 German round as I was trying to get some info on the dunlop tyres and they had 2 options one was 2 hard and was slow the other was 2 soft and wouldnt last the race. Everyone goes for the 2 soft option as the lap times are around 1 second per lap different

[gixerracer]

Agreed. I have read somewhere that Dunlop (because the tyre rule in Moto 2 was (is?) more open than MotoGP) built special tyres for Toni due to his light weight and special style. In MotoGP he does not have that luxury.

Man you talk shit bob

[slowpoke]

Did a bit more digging on Elias and came across this at www.twowheelsblog.com:

"Elias has been on the outs with his crew chief Christophe Bourguignon, who has been trying to persuade the Spanish rider to use certain set-ups, with Elias demanding others; with the result that his crew is no longer forcing their opinions on the him, but they certainly haven’t been helping, leaving him to work out his set-ups by himself"

Things don't sound too rosy.

[eelracing]

Elias has got me fucked. He was a world beater on his day in 250GP He's a talented rider but something is seriously wrong in his team or his head for his performance this year.

It's the tyres. Same thing happened with Crafar on the Red Bull 500GP was great on dunlops and they changed to Shitchelins the next year and that ended Simons GP racing

I don't agree in blaming the tyres as Elias used Bridgestone when racing the Ducati in 07 & 08.He also used them on the Gresini Honda in 09 when the one tyre rule came into effect which was also his best season yet finishing 7th overall.
(By the way gixxer Elias won his one and only MotoGP race on Michelin)

The reason he's having a bad year now is the slow and ponderous nature of the current Moto2 bikes which has taught him to get sloppy.At his best he's an aggressive charger and that suits Moto2 but it's a fine line on a pure GP bike.Something he mostly had when coming from 250's into MotoGP.

Simon Crafar is another great example,in Superbikes he was awesome to watch on the Kwaka but notoriously hard on front tyres.When he moved to the 500's he carried that talent through and got away with it while on his favoured Dunlops but as gixxer mentioned when the team changed to Michelin he could'nt get his head around them.

[Badjelly]

The reason he's having a bad year now is the slow and ponderous nature of the current Moto2 bikes which has taught him to get sloppy.At his best he's an aggressive charger and that suits Moto2 but it's a fine line on a pure GP bike.Something he mostly had when coming from 250's into MotoGP.

That sounds reasonable.

But, do you have any reason to think it's actually true?

[Cleve]

Stoner ruled and dominated that race. Spies did well after a bad start/first few corners. However he would have come 2nd rather than 3rd more likely. Trickey conditions with track/tyres/conditions and others failed to deal with them as well as Stoner.

[Crasherfromwayback]

Trickey conditions with track/tyres/conditions and others failed to deal with them as well as Stoner.

Like Silverstone. Makes me think Stoner may well have one at Jerez too if not taken out. Would be looking like a thrashing had that been the case. The 'Haters' must be a hating!!!

[Crasherfromwayback]

From Cycle World after Indy...

It was interesting to listen to the Hondas upshifting and downshifting with their new “zero-delay” gearboxes. At each upshift, there was an audible pop, indicating that an ignition cut is still being used to reduce pressure on the engaging surfaces. Stoner’s downshifts at the end of the infield straight were amazing—three rapid-fire engine blips as the shifts went through. The aim of such gearboxes (major factories either have such a gearbox now or will shortly) is not to reduce engine-off time in upshifts, but rather to reduce the thump that the chassis receives when the shift goes through. The more that upshifting disturbs the chassis, the less throttle the rider can use, lest the upset cause a slide.

Rumors always abound in the MotoGP paddock. Sunday’s talk was that chassis-builders FTR have now finished a first-try twin-beam aluminum chassis for Ducati, which will now be evaluated by the factory’s test riders.

[Ivan]

it could be times like this ducati need someone from the outside to come in and help them get the bike back to were it should be, FTR is a known Moto2 front runner and they build chassis for a living so it will be worthwhile seeing how that goes