[badri]

Originally Posted by Shivank

The other part where you mentioned Rossi planning to be a team owner is a news to me. No wonder if he does that though. Ducati and its so claimed improvements haven't helped Rossi even a tiny bit.

Here's a link with some info on this rumour.

Yamaha door not closed to Rossi - Motorcycle racing news: Moto GP - Visordown

I guess this could be an interesting proposition. With the current satellite riders doing very good, it is clear that Yamaha is giving similar spec machines to the satellite teams. With his crew having extensive experience on setting up the Yam, Rossi could well be giving factory Yamaha's a run for their money if he decides to run his own team.

[Shivank]

Don't think he's going to leave Ducati now. That'd be a brave move^^ if he does that, but otherwise, there aren't much options for him to choose from. Hondas are booked. Yamahas are booked...and the only option for him is to stay with Ducati and make it work. Or, may be, he should opt for a sabbatical and come back in 2014 when Suzuki is back.

So, did anyone find yesterday's session entertaining? I, for one, loved it for Pedrosa beating the crap out of Stoner and taking home a much much deserved win. Goes on to show that he's not an underdog or underachiever. He's clearly in championship contention now. 2nd in the overall ranking, ahead of Stoner and just 14 points short of Lorenzo. 3 horse-race now!

Stoner going down was a bit of surprise. He was too frustrated to have not being able to pass Dani. Good that he crashed out for his overzealous move.

Stoner's ambition outweighed his talent...as every Rossi fan and Stoner basher is putting it on public forums and fan sites.

[scuderiamania]

Guys, I don't watch Motogp as religiously as I follow Formula1 but I do watch quite a few of the races. The thing that I have noticed of late is the Valentino just doesn't seem to have that magic left in him. I have often seem him start from low down in the grid come through it. He had this brilliant capability of being easy on the bike in the early laps and then becoming incredibly quick in the clsing stages of the race. But it seems to me that he has lost that ability. Its almost like he's just riding around in the midfield trying to just stay on the bike till the race gets over.

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

The thing that I have noticed of late is the Valentino just doesn't seem to have that magic left in him..

Ducs are not just fast enough. They havent got the set up right, and Doc is still the best out there in the field. Yesterday race was a testemony to that. If he moves to Yamaha or Honda, you can be rest assured its going to be one man show all over again.

[JVH]

@scuderiamania,

You have obviously missed a lot of developments over the last 2 years on Rossi and his Ducati. Things haven't been working for him and the bike has not been developed to his taste and riding style yet and thats the reason there is so much gap between him and the top riders right now. We may not be in a position to say whether he has lost his ability since we can only comment after we watch him on the other marques.

I found yesterday's racing disappointing except for Pedrosa's win. The fact that he clocked the fastest lap time in the last lap goes to show how determined he was. Good going and hope he maintains the 3 horse fight till the end.

Disappointing because
1) Stoner gave away points and allowed Horegay to come right back into the championship. He was definitely rattled after Pedrosa overtook him
2) Spies doesn't seem to click through the complete race despite clocking some good laps
3) Rossi and Ducati are going nowhere with their developments
4) Cal going off track again and losing a possible podium

[scuderiamania]

To be honest, I don't follow up the pre-season tests and analysis and am unaware of the relative performances of the bikes. When Casey Stoner beat Valentino to his first championship, stopping rossi long run of championships, I was a bit disappointment. I was really excited in the year [don't remember which] when Rossi and Lorenzo were riding together and the doctor seemed to be back on track. Btw, why exactly did Rossi leave Yamaha and go over to Ducati when things were obviously working out between him and Yamaha?

[Shivank]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

If he moves to Yamaha or Honda, you can be rest assured its going to be one man show all over again.

Actually, that's contradictory.


You can't conclude that just by looking at previous records. This is not a mathematical equation where you can say A>B, whereas B>C, so that proves, A>C. No!


There are many good riders out there now. Don't know about others but Lorenzo & Stoner (if he were to stay) certainly won't let things come easy for the Italian. With Marquez in line next year, it's doubly not easy. Then you have Bradl and Crutchlow too. Try to put Hayden on a Honda or a Yamaha, I am very sure, he'll outperform some of the top riders.


Ducati has invested millions on that crap bike but it still doesn't work out for Rossi. Whereas, when Stoner used to complain about that bike it all used to fall on deaf ears. Yet, he managed to win races before finally leaving Ducati. I am not a Rossi basher or Stoner fan in particular. But tells a lot about the one-man not showing up! ;-)

[Sheel]

Under normal circumstances, Rossi won't be back at a Yamaha or a Honda. Chances of him being competitive is with Ducati. Reason being the other options have nothing in store worth.

Options? CRT's? Well, he would be faster on a WSBK machine & strangely at some tracks WSBK's are faster than CRT's.

The other option is with Suzuki & Kawasaki. I don't see them coming to Moto GP immediately and even if they do, to be competitive, they have to spend a season or two trying to get in the bandwagon.

That Ducati is fast, as fast as a Honda. Albeit Yamaha is slower than both.

Question is, why doesn't it reflect in their lap times or results? Stupid spec tire rule by FIM which compromises Ducati's riding ability.

The biggest crisis the 2013 season will face is competition. With Stoner walking away and Valentino not having a bike which is competitive enough, it will leave Jorge Lorenzo free to claim the 2013 championship with some resistance from Doviziso, Cal & Pedrosa.

On these days, I miss Marco Simoncelli #58 just so much :(

@scuderiamania - Google around a bit

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by Shivank

Yet, he managed to win races before finally leaving Ducati. I am not a Rossi basher or Stoner fan in particular. But tells a lot about the one-man not showing up! ;-)

Ducatis were at their best in 2007 when stoner won with them. Their straight line speed was unmatched. Rossi has consistenly out performed Nicky Hayden at Ducati. The same is the case with Lorenzo as well. Rossi had consistently beat him in 08,09 before the accident.

- Rossi with a competitive bike, the competiton could still be a one man show.

But yes, i get your point and it hurts a lot when you constantly expects the person to show up and when that doesnt happen.

[Shivank]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

Ducatis were at their best in 2007 when stoner won with them. Their straight line speed was unmatched. Rossi has consistenly out performed Nicky Hayden at Ducati. The same is the case with Lorenzo as well. Rossi had consistently beat him in 08,09 before the accident.

- Rossi with a competitive bike, the competiton could still be a one man show.

But yes, i get your point and it hurts a lot when you constantly expects the person to show up and when that doesnt happen.

I get your point. ;-)

I was actually talking about the 2010 season where Stoner managed to clinch 3 races on his Ducati. Potentially the same bike, which Rossi was riding last year. And on the Yamaha his brilliance is unparalleled. No doubts.

I was just trying to say that it's not going to be that easy for Rossi in coming years.


Anyway, here's a pic, I couldn't resist posting. Meet the new troll king, Pedrosa

[ashwin.terminat]

Marquez confirmed for Repsol Honda for 2013 season.

Source: motogp.com · Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez to race together in Repsol Honda Team

[scuderiamania]

guys, I have not been a regular motogp follower. I used to watch it whenever I chanced upon it changing channels. But for the last couple of weeks I have been following the premier class races. So I had a couple of questions.
1. What/who are CRT racers? Are they like private contenders, like the ones they have in WRC?
2. Whats this moto2/moto3 class races? What happened to the 125cc and the 250cc races? Same class with different names?
3. One thing that I have noticed of late which I have never seen them do before. Riders often extend their legs forward instead of keeping it on the foot peg and hanging out the knee when going through a corner now-a-days. When taking a right hand corner, how in the world do the apply the brakes on the rear wheel if their foot is extended forwards?

[Sheel]

Trying my best to answer each

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

So I had a couple of questions.
1. What/who are CRT racers? Are they like private contenders, like the ones they have in WRC?

From wikipedia

Claiming Rule Teams

2012 will see the introduction of Claiming Rule Teams (CRT) to allow for participation by independent teams with lower budgets. CRTs will be given twelve engines per rider, six more than the other teams and more fuel – 24 litres (5.3 imperial gallons) instead of 21 litres (4.6 imperial gallons) – but will be subject to a factory team buying, or "claiming", their engines for €15,000, or €20,000 with the transmission.[6] The sport's governing body has received applications from sixteen new teams looking to join the MotoGP class

2. Whats this moto2/moto3 class races? What happened to the 125cc and the 250cc races? Same class with different names?

Yes. Moto 2 is 600cc prototype Honda engined bikes. This replaces the 250. Unlike Moto GP and Moto 3 (erstwhile 125cc class). Honda is the engine supplier. Teams can tweak the chassis and that is it.

Moto 3 has different manufacturers fighting for the title. 250cc 4 stroke. Want to buy one? Be ready to shell out Rs. 50L+ (shipping & duties) KTM Moto3 customer racer for 2013 revealed - | Motorbike reviews | Latest Bike Videos | MCN

3. One thing that I have noticed of late which I have never seen them do before. Riders often extend their legs forward instead of keeping it on the foot peg and hanging out the knee when going through a corner now-a-days. When taking a right hand corner, how in the world do the apply the brakes on the rear wheel if their foot is extended forwards?

Normal riders like me don't rely on rear brakes at all and you are speaking about Moto GP riders?

Rear brake on a Sports Motorcycle is redundant and the braking force comes from front and engine braking.

Moto GP is a completely different annal and I don't think I can explain the technicalities better.

The leg dangling was started by Rossi and currently Casey, Andrea, Cal do it almost on every 1st corner of the lap (Doing 200PMH+ and coming to some 80odd MPH)

Famously said - Rear brakes have many usage, stopping the bike isn't one of them.

Thanks

[scuderiamania]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Trying my best to answer each



Yes. Moto 2 is 600cc prototype Honda engined bikes. This replaces the 250. Unlike Moto GP and Moto 3 (erstwhile 125cc class). Honda is the engine supplier. Teams can tweak the chassis and that is it.

Moto 3 has different manufacturers fighting for the title. 250cc 4 stroke. Want to buy one? Be ready to shell out Rs. 50L+ (shipping & duties) KTM Moto3 customer racer for 2013 revealed - | Motorbike reviews | Latest Bike Videos | MCN

Btw, I didn't notice the Mahindra team in yesterday's race. Have they stopped racing after the introduction of this single make Moto3 class?

And out of curiosity, what exactly are the rear brakes used for if they are not used for braking into a corner. I got an oppurtunity to learn how to ride a bike on my house gardener's 10 year old caliber. The one thing that my father told me to do was to be gentler on the front brakes and harder on the rear ones. So what am I missing out? Is it better to be harder on the front brakes? I thought, its easier to cope with a rear wheel lock compared to the front.

[Shivank]

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

Btw, I didn't notice the Mahindra team in yesterday's race. Have they stopped racing after the introduction of this single make Moto3 class?

They are very much in the Moto3 grid. Danny Webb is one of the riders, if I am not wrong. Will agree that locating them on the grid is really a tough task. Specially with kind of chaos in Moto3 races it is very hard.

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

And out of curiosity, what exactly are the rear brakes used for if they are not used for braking into a corner. I got an oppurtunity to learn how to ride a bike on my house gardener's 10 year old caliber. The one thing that my father told me to do was to be gentler on the front brakes and harder on the rear ones. So what am I missing out? Is it better to be harder on the front brakes? I thought, its easier to cope with a rear wheel lock compared to the front.

You can brake while encountering a corner and beyond. It is called trail braking. Rear or front or both can be used, but in case you overcook you'd fall flat on your face. It's suggested that you do all your braking and gear-changes before the entrance of any corner. However, there's a lot more to it than just that. And this perhaps is not the best thread to discuss these things. But for starters, don't stomp hard on rear brakes. This is a myth. My father used to advice me the same thing (hard on rear and gentle on front). It was later that I found out it's just the opposite. At the very least 60% of the braking shall come from the front while rest from the rear. Check this, I googled it out just now - Motorcycle Braking: 15 Questions and Answers - webBikeWorld

Even though I have read all of those lessons 10 or 12 times, it's very hard to put it into practice. But I have improved for sure.

Back to the main topic:

What a boring race yesterday! Apart from Dovi/Bradl battle there wasn't anything close to interesting. Factory Hondas will soon be doomed if they do not do something about the chatter. Catching Lorenzo would be impossible if he continues to up his pace like that. Pedrosa tried everything, but nothing he could do about Lorenzo and his constant 1'47.xx lap-times. Stoner is already mad for reasons best known to him and his wife. What was he bloody doing yesterday? He has definitely lost his passion, and his mind too...