MotoGP 2012

[Crasherfromwayback]

But the Astros turf thing is about saving money on track upkeep.

Quite possibly. But they still get away with using it like they would the track at times rather than paying the price.

[Drew]

Quite possibly. But they still get away with using it like they would the track at times rather than paying the price.

What price should there be though? I feel there is a slight flaw in the argument; "He should crash there, instead of losing half a second".

The racing we see these days, is measured in thousandths of a second. A tenth is a lot now, the margins are so close and laps so consistent. Cheaper easier AstroTurf is as big in terms of consequent speed loss, as grass was, percentage wise.

I don't see a problem with it. If someone finds a way to run over it and lower their lap times, it's the organisers job to penalise them for cheating I'd say, not the track designers or owners.

[onearmedbandit]

Also, a pet peeve of mine once again arises, particularly as it's a relatively new track. Why aren't those runoff areas sealed ? Yes, you still need a trap, and ideally an airfence as well BUT surely if the first 30 or 40 metres are sealed, riders can either bail out safely, skid sideways or dump the bike on its side and prevent most of those injury-causing, bike-damaging rollover prangs that traps breed....

I wonder what the first car racer would think of that as he skates across sealed runoff at 100mph with one wheel missing and no brakes. 30-40m of sealed runoff plus another 30-40m of gravel trap would put the spectators 60-80m away from the action.

[Oscar]

Hmmm, wonder how much the cost of running superbike is about to go up, to pay for what they've done to gp?

The inside word is that Superbikes goes back to its production roots and MotoGP becomes slighty less technological (and cheaper).

[Crasherfromwayback]

What price should there be though? I feel there is a slight flaw in the argument; "He should crash there, instead of losing half a second".

Yeah they have the choice though. When I said hit the deck...that's what should happen if you try and corner on the shit like it's still the track surface. You have the choice of picking the bike up and running wide other wise. (paying the price). The track is the track. The rest not. Hey...I saw Simon Turner off the end of the back straight at Manfeild full throttle and full lock through the kitty litter at huge speed. So there's another choice!

[denill]

The inside word is that Superbikes goes back to its production roots and MotoGP becomes slighty less technological (and cheaper).

And that would not be bad thing.

[tail_end_charlie]

The inside word is that Superbikes goes back to its production roots and MotoGP becomes slighty less technological (and cheaper).

And that would not be bad thing.

I agree. However, is that the PR people spinning it so that people with rose tinted glasses will be think everything is hunky dorry.........or are we going to find out the hard way that everything is not as it seems? Perhaps Dorna has recognized that they have screwed up royally with MotoGP in the last few years, while the popularity of WSBK has gained more influence recently. So maybe Dorna is decided its easier to buy out WSBK and run it into the ground (figuratively) than fix what they have done to MotoGP??????

Or maybe things will get better and what Oscar quoted actually happens. I dunno, but I'm a pesimist to the core, so I'm going with smoke and mirrors consipiracy theory. And it seems like I'm not alone.
http://www.superbikeplanet.com/getVote.jsp?pn=dorna1002

[Mental Trousers]

I agree. It's gay and looks gay. As I've said before...ain't seen too many people out brake Lorenzo...and he keeps his feet on the pegs.

It's very gay and very look at me!!

Secondly...easy. The track ends when it does. If you seal it outside of the track...there's no penalty for running out of track. Stoner complained years ago about the usage of astro turf etc on the outside of the track...and fair enough. If you can't use the track made avail to you...and run wide onto what should be grass/dirt...you should hit the deck.

I agree that if there is Tarmac outside the corner, it'll get used, and that is wrong. But the Astros turf thing is about saving money on track upkeep.

I disagree. There's been plenty of crashes that have cost significantly more to repair because the bike went into the sand trap and flipped upside down, taking out the dash etc. An extra 30m of tarmac quite probably would've slowed them enough they didn't catch and flip when they hit the sand.

Having sand traps too close to the track can be a bad thing.

[Crasherfromwayback]

I disagree. There's been plenty of crashes that have cost significantly more to repair because the bike went into the sand trap and flipped upside down, taking out the dash etc. An extra 30m of tarmac quite probably would've slowed them enough they didn't catch and flip when they hit the sand.

Having sand traps too close to the track can be a bad thing.

You no understad wot I say big boy.

Didn't say anything about sand traps at the very side of the track. I don't dig that at all.

I'm talking about there being a very clear difference between being on the track, and being off the track though.

[Mental Trousers]

You no understad wot I say big boy.

Didn't say anything about sand traps at the very side of the track. I don't dig that at all.

I'm talking about there being a very clear difference between being on the track, and being off the track though.

Yeah I know what you mean mate, the penalty for fucking up and running wide should be more than losing 1 or 2 seconds.

What they need is something like you cross this strip of astro turf and you have to reenter the track at the designated spot after coming to a complete stop with 1 foot on the ground.

I wonder what the first car racer would think of that as he skates across sealed runoff at 100mph with one wheel missing and no brakes. 30-40m of sealed runoff plus another 30-40m of gravel trap would put the spectators 60-80m away from the action.

Better the wall is 30-40m further away than having people/vehicles nailing it at a higher speed

[Crasherfromwayback]

What they need is something like you cross this strip of astro turf and you have to reenter the track at the designated spot after coming to a complete stop with 1 foot on the ground.



Better the wall is 30-40m further away than having people/vehicles nailing it at a higher speed

Dunno if we need to go there though.

Yes.

[onearmedbandit]

Better the wall is 30-40m further away than having people/vehicles nailing it at a higher speed

Air fences fix the problem. There was no air fence where Nicky crashed, had there been this wouldn't be a topic of discussion. At every other major track with air fences and gravel traps there is no problems.

[Crasherfromwayback]

Air fences fix the problem.

Maybe help it rathert han fix it. The real problem is the wall its self I guess.

[onearmedbandit]

Maybe help it rathert han fix it. The real problem is the wall its self I guess.

How many other tracks on the international major race scene do people complain about? I see plenty of cars/bikes hit air fences and no one moans, in fact they praise them.

[Mental Trousers]

Air fences are a last resort. You don't want people hitting anything if possible.

With air fences there's always the issue of the bike hitting it before the rider and deflating it, particularly if there are multiple bikes that go down in the same incident.