[Parth46]

I really wonder why all the MM support has disappeared from this thread. Till the beginning of the season and the initial pages of this thread, he was annointed to take the mantle over from Rossi as the new king of all he surveys but 3 DNFs out of 7 have really taken the wind out of the sails of the MM93 support here and JLO is the new savior I guess. Oh Well.

Maybe he should follow Pedrosa's example and learn to ride in a more controlled manner and not expect a tricked-out gearbox and electronics to do everything for him. Now that this year Yamaha and Ducati have stepped up their game more than Honda, the wonderkid is no longer the conqueror he promised to be. Hmmm.

Since this year is now mostly a two-horse race to the title in all probability, love how folks have conveniently moved over to the JLO camp and given MM the cold shoulder. If at all MM can work his way back to the top rungs of the points table this year, let's see how the next mood swing shapes out!

Maybe he can leverage all his "vast" experience at the top and help "develop" the bike, something Rossi was never good at since he himself won only due to electronics.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by sanjaymugur

a few drops of rain on the tarmac & then lets see how brave LORENZO rides,

rain is what is needed in this year's motogp to know who is the REAL rider/racer,

even Pedrosa has overcome his fears of riding in rain,

Yes. Rain is what separates the men from the boys in motor sport. Has been true down the years in F1 as well.

Look around you in real life and see the same thing. How many bikers stop riding in the rain or make a big song and dance about riding in the rain. Getting their gear (or deeper) wet being equivalent to climbing a really tough mountain without oxygen. Or worse. Bungee jumping without the bungee.

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Yes. Rain is what separates the men from the boys in motor sport. Has been true down the years in F1 as well.

Look around you in real life and see the same thing. How many bikers stop riding in the rain or make a big song and dance about riding in the rain. Getting their gear wet being equivalent to climbing a really tough mountain without oxygen.

I must add - Rossi is a bit of a genius in the wet and has won quite a few battles in the rain in his life as well, something I'm not sure if the current crop is very experienced or comfortable with.

The tyres and grip is completely different, the risk quotient goes up exponentially and the electronics are working overtime and still able to control fewer parameters, leading to an exponentially higher reliance on rider skill alone.

- some rain in one of the next few races would be good.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Parth46

The tyres and grip is completely different, the risk quotient goes up exponentially and the electronics are working overtime and still able to control fewer parameters, leading to an exponentially higher reliance on rider skill alone.

There is the small bit of a set of big brass ones as well.

Never leave home without a pair.

P.S. Did you hear the gem about helmet lining coming off.

Next they'll be complaining about getting the runs mid race.

Oh wait ...... haven't they already tried that one?

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by ebonho

There is the small bit of a set of big brass ones as well.

Never leave home without a pair.

Don't you worry Doc.

Per feedback on JLo's greatness, he's a combination of steel, brass, titanium (in all the right places, LOL) and all super strong metals known to man. He's probably Iron Man inside that helmet of his. So I wouldn't worry if I were you.

EDIT : helmet lining. What WILL they think of next? Guess JLO fanboys are as imaginative as their rider is invincible.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Parth46

Don't you worry Doc.

Per feedback on JLo's greatness, he's a combination of steel, brass, titanium and all super strong metals known to man. He's probably Iron Man inside that helmet of his. So I wouldn't worry if I were you.

Errrr ..... Its not what's inside the helmet that's the brass that's needed.

JLo .... seriously?!!!!

P.S. That might explain the wardrobe malfunction. Helmet sponsor now needs to provide stronger ..... velcro.

[Sachin_Nair]

Looks like this year the competition is between Lorenzo & Rossi. Marquez has fallen once to often in this season and first time I have seen him struggle to keep up with the leaders. On the other hand, Ducati has really come to pace with Yamaha and Honda which is great to see. Everytime that Ducati comes in straight line with other bikes it looks surreal as it overtakes other bikes.

[JayKis]

Rain! Reminds me of the monsoon madness at Lavasa, Pune!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsskkwZMTnk

Rain negates the needs for horsepower. The Suzukis and the Ducatis would be licking their lips. The rain might also help Marquez overcome his braking problems. Then we would have a 4-way fight. That should be pretty interesting.

Sunday, June 28th, the precipitation chance is 40% in Assen (which may change). Would love to see the rain!

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

Meanwhile Rossi looking for some real brass ones

Ah, thats why he has managed to win 2 in 2015. He borrowed them from Marq.

[JayKis]

Correction: Skipped my mind that the Assen race happens on Saturday. All through Thu to Sat precipitation chances are 50%.

[badri]

Originally Posted by Parth46

I must add - Rossi is a bit of a genius in the wet and has won quite a few battles in the rain in his life as well, something I'm not sure if the current crop is very experienced or comfortable with.
.

Marc Marquez was on podium in his first Motogp wet race ( and fourth race overall) in Le Mans 2013. Crutchlow, on a satellite Yamaha finished second, behind Pedrosa. Incidentally Rossi crashed and rejoined to finish 12th.

What I mean to say is that the current crop of riders can be equally good in wet and give the veterans a tough time.

Rossi won some wet weather races in his career and he is very good. The best of which I have seen is Indianapolis GP in 2008. Towards the end a hurricane was blowing debris on to the track and race was stopped. The way Rossi rode on that day was masterclass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9yhc-gf9dk

However, I wouldn't call him, or any of the existing motogp riders as wet weather specialists. Only one name comes to my mind for this title and that is Chris Vermeulen..

[badri]

Originally Posted by sanjaymugur

a few drops of rain on the tarmac & then lets see how brave LORENZO rides,

rain is what is needed in this year's motogp to know who is the REAL rider/racer,

Lorenzo won a wet race in Aragon last year. Ofcourse it helped that both Marquez and Pedrosa crashed after deciding to stay out on slicks. Earlier, Rossi too crashed and was knocked unconscious when he was hit by the tire of his bike.

Even with the Hondas not crashing, Lorenzo would have finished on podium.. not bad for a rider who admittedly is scared of riding in wet. It shows the great efforts he put to overcome his fears and come out winning.

I don't expect him to be on podium if it rains.. but I would't discount him either..

[JayKis]

Another one: From Mat Oxley (People whodont like copy paste, either click on the link or ignore )
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/ra.../blue-on-blue/


Forty years ago this Saturday Jaws was released in cinemas. The film’s theme tune still reverberates in people’s minds: a spooky riff synonymous with approaching danger.
Over the past four races Jorge Lorenzo has bitten shark-sized chunks out of Valentino Rossi; 28 points, to be exact. With seven rounds done and 11 to go, he is just one point adrift of his team-mate and poised for the kill. Or is he? Perhaps Lorenzo’s momentum is unstoppable or perhaps Rossi can rally himself.

Of course, the nine-time champ has been here before. Way back in 2009 he likened Lorenzo and the other new kids on the block to sharks. “If I am not strong, I know they will eat me in one bite,” he said. “They look at me with a little bit of blood flowing and maybe they think, OK, now is the time.”

Last year Rossi reinvented himself, learning a new way of riding, more from Lorenzo than from Marc Márquez. When he returned to Yamaha the Italian studied Lorenzo’s data and worked out how to run with the youngsters. On Sunday his pace was a mere 0.03 seconds a lap off Lorenzo’s, but even that’s not enough when he’s 1.3 seconds behind after the third lap.
Lorenzo said it at Catalunya: “Valentino is a Sunday rider”. So that’s what Rossi needs to do, he needs to learn how to become a Saturday rider by learning the precarious skill of exiting the pits and attacking the first corner like it’s the last, even though the tyres aren’t up to temperature.
It is this skill – some might call it a monumental leap of faith – that has got Lorenzo where he is now. In qualifying he rides out of pitlane and explodes into action; he doesn’t work his way up to speed over a few laps. And he does the same in the race, giving himself the clear track he needs to use his unique lines.

Lorenzo wasn’t always like this. He too had to learn this skill, because that’s how Casey Stonerwas beating him. A few winters ago Lorenzo girded his loins and spent much of the offseason fighting psychological warfare, with himself: the brain says don’t do it, the ego says you must do it. Throughout testing he bolted out of the pits, heart in his mouth, and hurtled into the first few corners like the world championship depended on it, which of course it did.



Rossi has known for ages that this is what he too needs to do. Indeed he had tried to learn by following Lorenzo out of the pits, but he can’t match his team-mate’s instant speed. He still needs to wind up to full speed, which doesn’t work with the 15-minute qualifying format.
So what needs to change: does his crew need to give him a special set-up that will make him faster in qualifying, or does the change need to come from inside?
These days, MotoGP technicians change very little for qualifying. All they do now is fill the 20-litre fuel tank a quarter full and slightly richen the fuelling. They add a millimetre of pre-load on the front forks, because when riders are chasing that last hundredth of a second they usually make it up on the brakes. And perhaps they’ll add a millimetre of pre-load on the rear shock, because of the extra loads created by the rider using more throttle on a brand-new tyre.

In fact the whole point is to change the bike as little as possible because bike racing is all about confidence. The rider needs to be so intimate with his set-up that he knows what his machine will do before it does it – that’s how he feels comfortable on the absolute limit. If the crew radically modify set-up in the hope of a faster qualifying lap the rider will probably be slower because he’s not intimate with the set-up. Perhaps Rossi’s crew need to change his overall set-up, to a slightly softer suspension setting, like Lorenzo’s. But they still have different riding styles – Lorenzo sits dead still on the bike while Rossi moves around more.



Somehow Rossi must find what he needs from inside, which seems a big ask for someone who’s been grappling with this problem for several years.

But at least he is still in the title fight, unlike Honda, whose reigning world champion has scored exactly half the points of Lorenzo. Depending on whom you talk to in pitlane, Marc Márquez’s problem is either a lack of mechanical grip or a lack of flywheel weight.
The flywheel idea is plausible because a light flywheel makes the engine spin up too quickly when the rider opens the throttle, which causes wheelspin. And when the rider closes the throttle the engine shuts down too quickly, causing the rear wheel to lock. These symptoms tally exactly with Márquez’s comments.A few years ago, HRC would’ve sorted these issues in no time. In the two-stroke era they calmed the NSR500 engine by adding tungsten inserts to the flywheel. But midseason engine development is now banned: all engines are sealed at the first race, so no changes are allowed and there’s no going back to last year’s engine. If flywheel weight is the issue, then HRC may try to compensate by adding mass to the (cassette) gearbox or ignition pick-up, but it’s not easy to make a big difference there.



If the problem is mechanical grip, then perhaps the 2014 chassis that Márquez tried after the Catalan GP will solve the problems.
But even if Márquez starts winning now, it is surely too late for that title hat trick. Lorenzo, according to his venerable crew chief Ramon Forcada, is no longer confused, as he was at the start of the season when various gremlins destabilised him: first it was ill-fitting leathers, then a disintegrating helmet (at Qatar), a bout of illness (in Texas) and an incorrect tyre choice (in Argentina).
Since then he’s been pure perfection: a modern-era record of 103 laps in the lead and the same number of premier-class victories as Mike Hailwood. Last year we were in a froth about Márquez winning ten in a row; what chance Lorenzo this year?


So the old dawg is learning new tricks (commendable job) from Lorenzo which Lorenzo learned it from Stoner. Will that be enough?

And coming back to rains, this is probably the best one you would see (albeit in BSB)
Ryuichi Kiyonari at Donington park!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H93kPnDQEqA

[MonsterPatrol]

Originally Posted by Parth46

Per feedback on JLo's greatness, he's a combination of steel, brass, titanium (in all the right places, LOL) and all super strong metals known to man. He's probably Iron Man inside that helmet of his.

Rightly spotted.Inside and outside both.

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by MonsterPatrol

Rightly spotted.Inside and outside both.

Happy to help, please keep them coming.

[ashwin.terminat]

I have been reading this thread for days now and was hoping that these desperate attempts to one up each other would stop. But sadly, it hasn't.

Let's keep this about the 2015 MotoGP season alone. Members are needlessly provoking each other to litter this thread with more Rossi vs Lorenzo vs Marquez arguments.

Let's be respectful of each others' opinions and not ridicule them.

Over and out.