Moto GP 2008

[Guzzirider]

Rossi HAS new rubber(probably one of his problems, but it is his own fault). The big thing was how much Stoner sand bagged at the beginning of the race. When he pulled the trigger on that Ducati down the straight it flew.

Does not look good for everybody else. The Ducati appears to still be way faster then everybody else.

 

 

The Duke maybe slightly faster down the straight but not by much. Ask Marco Melandri how he got on with it- the difference is Stoner- he rides the wheels of it and can cope with the tyre degradation.

 

Stoner deserves all the credit for making the Duke look fast.

[Tom M]

I'm still wondering how Pedrosa pulled that holeshot. He started 4th and absolutely blew by everyone well before the first turn. It was looking like he might run away with the whole race for a little while there.

 

Kudos to Stoner for biding his time back in 4th or 5th before picking off the leaders one by one. Obviously he looks to be the one to beat again this season.

 

OT: The craziest race that I saw this weekend was the Daytona Supercross. It was a cross between a jetski race and a tractor pull! Sorry for the dirt bike content here but this race was much different than usual.

 

 

 

More pics etc here: http://www.racerxill.com/articles/detail/3...ace-report.aspx

[GuzziMoto]

The best shot from Daytona's gotta be the Kawasaki planted in the mud (rear tyre buried) sticking straight up.

As far as Stoner and the speed of the Ducati, he was 5 mph faster then Rossi down the front straight when he opened the throttle all the way. I know he can ride, but that's a huge advantage at that level. As has been stated before, it's not just a question of who's the best rider. At that level it's about the best combination of rider and bike(and tyres ). More power to Stoner, if I had 5 mph on the rest(some he had 10 mph on) I would have done the same thing too. Just wait for my tyres to warm up, then when I'm good and ready just drop the hammer and go.

[antonio carroccio]

The Duke maybe slightly faster down the straight but not by much. Ask Marco Melandri how he got on with it- the difference is Stoner- he rides the wheels of it and can cope with the tyre degradation.

 

Stoner deserves all the credit for making the Duke look fast.

I would give Marco also some credit, damn. He had token the flag over from Capirex and another Italian on an Italian bike should show some more guts on the track.

Well Marco goes from 16th place to 11 and I will say, chapeau! Even for Pasini (250cc) and Dovizioso…

 

Marco, next session, more throttle please!!!

[Baldini]

Speedcharts showed Stoner & Melandri's Ducatis 1&2 fastest on straight. I don't think Stoner likes to make it too obvious!

 

Re Melandri - it seems Ducati's built around traction control, you gotta put complete faith in it & whack it open. Can't be an easy jump to make for anyone who's spent their whole career on bikes that'd spit em off if they tried that. Remember how much Stoner used to crash? listen to what he said about racing under lights - you can't see the oil & track imperfections so you don't worry about em & he goes faster. Another judgement he doesn't have to make. It's a different attitude.

 

With traction control, ultimately all the rider would have to do is sit & point it in right direction, if it's not about rider judgement & throttle control, then that's a big part of riding a bike gone. Why not race em on ovals & be done with it.

 

KB

[BRENTTODD]

With traction control, ultimately all the rider would have to do is sit & point it in right direction, if it's not about rider judgement & throttle control, then that's a big part of riding a bike gone. Why not race em on ovals & be done with it.

 

I agree but dont let nascar Know what you think those round de rounds will ruin yet another good racing series. ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. They have talked about the euro market before.

[Pierre]

With traction control, ultimately all the rider would have to do is sit & point it in right direction, if it's not about rider judgement & throttle control, then that's a big part of riding a bike gone. Why not race em on ovals & be done with it.

 

KB

Skin tight leather wrapped diminutive nancy boyz on tiny bikes, eh? Little more than monkeys in a space capsule.

 

It'll never play in America, home of the oval.

 

Ah yes - I remember back when men were men and bikes were ... well ... not.

 

On a more serious note - Euro style racing has now moved up from 125 and 250 to reign supreme at the Moto GP level. Is that a good thing? Yes if you've always loved watching swarms of little wheezers flitting about lap afer lap.

 

No longer does one "graduate" to moto gp. Rather, moto gp has been dumbed down to let anyone who could ride a wee bike fast climb aboard and go whee!

 

Ah, I'm just kidding. Maybe. Maybe not.

[jihem]

With traction control, ultimately all the rider would have to do is sit & point it in right direction, if it's not about rider judgement & throttle control, then that's a big part of riding a bike gone.

 

 

I disagree. Altho the electronics do add something different to the equation, there's still a pilot who needs to control the thing and they're not all alike and not all react the same way.

The guy at the front isn't there cos he's the less fearful of them, he's there cos he's the one who can combine the better all the elements involved in a motorbike race, and that still implies throttle control, brakes control, angle of the bike, use of the front brake vs rear brake (Stoner uses a lot of rear brake), braking points, lines to be chosen, fast thinking, race tactics and agressivity, mental strength, physical condition, etc...etc...

 

Stoner is what he is cos his upbringing has taken him to this point of excellence. Sure, his attitude seems to be "go for it and stop thinking about it" but still he has thousands of decision to make during a lap and he's better than the others at that. Racing at night in dirt track back in Australia really helped him last week in Qatar cos he had raced before where there wasn't even decent lighting and he couldn't see the track. But he's the kind of racer that would have been doing very well at the time of the crazy 500 2 strokes too. He's just very good and totally intune with the bike he races right now.

 

And as far as riding a 145 kgs bike with 230 HP is concerned, it's surely more than most average bikers can take. respect

[GuzziMoto]

I can live with some of what you said, but a 500cc two stroke would have ended Stoners career if he rode one for ant length of time. And MotoGP HAS been dumbed down. In the days of 500cc two strokes you could not just hop on one from a 250 and run at the front(not for long atleast). But that's progress for you. While I see how much things have changed, I am not one who sits on the porch saying "in my day". Stoner is not the best rider out there but he is the right rider on the right bike and tyres. That is all he needs to be. That does not diminish what he has done or what he will do. There have been other great racers who were the same. He's not the first and he won't be the last.

[jihem]

I can live with some of what you said, but a 500cc two stroke would have ended Stoners career if he rode one for ant length of time.

 

Isn't that exactly what people were saying about Stoner in his first year of MotoGP, and then he moved on to Ducati (and bridgestone) and he stopped crashing ?

 

And MotoGP HAS been dumbed down.

 

yes, sure, but they're still riding 145 kgs/240 HP bikes that most of us wouldn't be able to hold on a track for a full lap.

 

In the days of 500cc two strokes you could not just hop on one from a 250 and run at the front(not for long atleast).

 

Isn't that what Max Biaggi did in 1998 (pole first race, win first race, that year he won twice, was 8 times on the podium, and finished 2nd to Doohan) ? And so did Rossi, and I'm pretty sure there are other examples.

 

 

I read a lot against TC and electronics and strategy and how it was so much harder "back then". Well, the roadracers of today are confronted to challenges the old riders didn't have yet. The actual cornering speed is way way higher today, the acceleration now is totally crazy, the forces they need to come up with to resist braking is stupendous, the overall speed at which they travel on a race track is wild (i mean 347 kmh per hour on a motorbike,...).

 

So, i don't think we can compare today's racing to yesterdays'. It's just different. The way today's riders meet their challenges doesn't make them diminished riders at all. The basic techniques are still to be known and used and a lot more parameters do get into play.

[GuzziMoto]

Yea they said that about Stoner and they were right. He writes talent checks he can't cash. But Senna did that as well and he's legendary. Thank god for electronics. It's part of the game.

As far as riding a modern MotoGP bike, all the journalists that get to ride one get off commenting about how easy they are to ride. I don't think most of us could ride one as fast as Stoner, but I'm pretty sure I could ride one around a track at a respectable pace.

Biaggi, yea, that's right. How many 500cc GP championships did he win?

I do think it was harder back then, but I do agree that that was then and this is now. It's a different skill set required and the rider and bike that offer the best package will win. Right now that is Stoner. MotoGP bikes corner faster and accelerate slower then they used to. Just going from 990 to 800 cc did that. It takes a different skill set to ride a MotoGP bike today then it did just 2 or 3 years ago. But I'll still be at Indy to watch. Can't wait.

[Ballabio Bertie]

Hey,what about Toseland? Give the boy a faster bike and see him on the podium!

[Baldini]

... ... there's still a pilot who needs to control the thing ...

 

but that's the whole point - the rider doesn't control the throttle - it seems the traction control controls it! If you can just whap the throttle open regardless of grip & the TC governs the amount of power at the tyre then the rider is not controling one of the most significant elements of the bike, it's governing itself.

 

KB

[macguzzi]

but that's the whole point - the rider doesn't control the throttle - it seems the traction control controls it! If you can just whap the throttle open regardless of grip & the TC governs the amount of power at the tyre then the rider is not controling one of the most significant elements of the bike, it's governing itself.

 

KB

Rossi pointed this out a year ago, it's too much like f1 these days

[GuzziMoto]

I've always said the bike only goes as fast as the rider tells it to. But modern MotoGP bikes are easier to tell to go fast then they used to be, thanks to modern electronics. But that is the way it is. And the reality of it is the rules are the same for everybody.