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**svr** · 30th September 2008, 11:24

Whats with the `buy your competitors' engines' rule??? Bit like bucket racing...

**Masterchop** · 30th September 2008, 11:25

Originally Posted by svr

Absolutely, always the sign of a class champion.
The best rider on the best bike - Stoner and the bratpack are capable of beating him, but... that rossi/yam/B combo looks formidable right now.
Duc and Honda have a lot of work to do in the off season. Kaw and Suzi will need a miracle.

Quite right, but the Rossi/HONDA/MICHELIN combo was equally formidable.

The common denominator being Rossi.

**diesel pig** · 30th September 2008, 16:18

Originally Posted by svr

Whats with the `buy your competitors' engines' rule??? Bit like bucket racing...

You're probably thinking of AMA racing. They had a claiming rule for the whole bike until some time in the 70's for road racing. Bucket racing has not had a claiming rule in the 15 or so years I have been in it.

**roogazza** · 30th September 2008, 17:53

Originally Posted by denill

Harald Bartol, reckons the rules “look as though they were drawn up by Karl Marx":

I remember the claiming rule Bill, but couldn't place it. 'Diesel Pig' reckons it was AMA. Whatever, 600's don't sound like a good idea so far.
(that coming from a dead keen 250 fan.) Gaz.

**denill** · 30th September 2008, 18:07

Originally Posted by roogazza

I remember the claiming rule Bill, but couldn't place it. 'Diesel Pig' reckons it was AMA. Whatever, 600's don't sound like a good idea so far.
(that coming from a dead keen 250 fan.) Gaz.

Yeah, like I said earlier Gaz.

"My problem is that the 200cc diff is bugger all and really can't see the point. Maybe if the MotoGP class now went to 990cc?"

**gav** · 30th September 2008, 19:58

AMA MX had a claiming rule for a while in the 80's. Got to the stage the factory riders were racing pretty much standard bikes for fear of losing valuable macinery. Bob "Hurricane" Hannah got to the stage where he would collect a stock bike from the local dealer in the area he was racing, would race and win the main event on the stock bike then raffle it off to some lucky punter. It got so bizzare that "factory" riders from other brands were wishing they too rode a standard YZ Yamaha!!

**Cleve** · 30th September 2008, 21:31

Rossi on his career so far.
http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/R...+MotoGP+career

Interesting comments. Reckons this years championship was even better than 2004 (first win on Yamaha) and that Casey is the best rival he has had.

**gav** · 30th September 2008, 22:07

Its been a strange season hasnt it? We had a rookie take pole 3 times in his first 3 races, then we had a Honda on Michelins leading the championship after 9 rounds! Then we had the defending champ come back and win 3 in a row and look unbeatable, and then Rossi wraps it up with 3 rounds still remaining!

**denill** · 1st October 2008, 07:49

Originally Posted by Cleve

Rossi on his career so far.
http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/R...+MotoGP+career

Interesting comments. Reckons this years championship was even better than 2004 (first win on Yamaha) and that Casey is the best rival he has had.

A good read Cleve. I think this excerpt is the measure of the guy - "I grew up a lot in the last two years, because at the end of 2005 I had a great career and I had won all the important targets so far. 125, 250 and then five titles in a row in MotoGP with two different bikes – I felt unbeatable. But in 2006 and 2007 I learnt to lose and this has been very important. I came out much stronger and my level of concentration and effort to win this championship has been higher than ever before."

**denill** · 1st October 2008, 07:53

Originally Posted by roogazza

I remember the claiming rule Bill, but couldn't place it. 'Diesel Pig' reckons it was AMA. Whatever, 600's don't sound like a good idea so far.
(that coming from a dead keen 250 fan.) Gaz.

I have a dim recollection of the claiming rule in existence in AMA - in Kenny Robert's day. I recall that what should have been a good scheme ended up with all sorts of tricks being pulled.

**denill** · 1st October 2008, 08:05

Originally Posted by roogazza

I remember the claiming rule Bill, but couldn't place it. 'Diesel Pig' reckons it was AMA. Whatever, 600's don't sound like a good idea so far.
(that coming from a dead keen 250 fan.) Gaz.

From Google:

Long ago, some racer tried to buy a TZ750...they were in stock in the warehouse but the guy couldn't get Yamaha to sell him one. (you had to RIDE IN THE RACE that you wanted to claim the bike in).
Roberts, I believe, won and this guy went to claim his OW31 one-off.
he had to physically confront some of the Yamaha guys regardless of what the AMA said.
I do believe they sold him a new TZ750 for the cost of the claim.

**svr** · 1st October 2008, 11:11

Originally Posted by diesel pig

You're probably thinking of AMA racing. They had a claiming rule for the whole bike until some time in the 70's for road racing. Bucket racing has not had a claiming rule in the 15 or so years I have been in it.

Yeah sorry - 18 years ago was the first and last time I raced (or noticed) a bucket and the claiming rule was around then I think.
Backwards stuff really - they'd be better to source a control engine supplier for reasonable cost.

**TonyB** · 3rd October 2008, 17:07

Originally Posted by svr

Yeah sorry - 18 years ago was the first and last time I raced (or noticed) a bucket

LOL, whatever you do don't join join the Visor Down forum, blasphemous remarks like that would get you in all sorts of trouble, eh Gav

**gav** · 3rd October 2008, 17:47

Originally Posted by TonyB

LOL, whatever you do don't join join the Visor Down forum, blasphemous remarks like that would get you in all sorts of trouble, eh Gav

Yeah, but when you get a field of 45 of them turn up at a Bears meet it is kind of hard not to notice them!
And yeah, you sure got your ears chewed there, TonyB!