Anyone else talking RACING?! <--- of the motorcycle type

Discussion in 'Racing & Track Days' started by drewl, Jan 13, 2011.

  1. Thumbs

    Thumbs Member

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    Well that was another odd and rather boring MotoGP

    The best performance was Rossi, Vinales seems to lost his sense of direction, his pre race interview was a shambles, even he didn't know WTF was going on in his head

    The worst Lorenzo, from leading in damp conditions to finishing 15th in the dry .... Ducati must be really regretting taking him onboard

    Marquez early bike swap was just luck, it might even have been texted to him, what ever he got the points and that's all that counts at the end of the race

    We had the added bonus of BSB this weekend from Thruxton which is a very quick circuit, not far from Stonehenge as it happens

    Only watched race 1, after a race long battle between Jake Dixon and Peter Hickman on their BMWs they sufficiently shagged their tyres out and Josh Brookes took the win on the yellow & black Kenney Roberts liveried Yamaha, with Shakey cruising to 4th on the Ducati

    Race 2 was cut to 18 laps so it was much quicker than race 1, same 3 fighting for the front after Shakey got off to a great start only to have his tyre delaminate, Josh Brookes was looking comfortable in the lead with Peter Hickman breathing down his neck, then Brookes dropped it, leaving Hickman to take his first BSB win this year, Dixon 2nd and a brave effort from Haslam got him a 3rd


    The Supersport was the best racing I've seen for years with 3 riders packed so tight through the final chicane that Mckenzie had to bump over both lots of kerbs as there was no space on the tarmac, a brilliant display of expert racers trust in each other

    The Ducati sport race got off to a crazy start on the warm up lap as they assembled for the start, one rider about 1/3 back in the pack just fell off, further back another rider ran into the bike in front, whose rider fell against the back wheel of the bike in front throwing him about 15' into the air and landing badly, so 3 bikes gone in 2 seconds and they're not even racing yet
     
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  2. OOTV

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    Well, it looks like its official, Redding in and Lowes out and Miller moves over to Reddings spot for 2018. Not sure if Lowes has a place to go but Aprilia is releasing him of his contract for 2018 and putting Redding in his place. Not sure if Rabat is going anywhere but Morbideli is moving to MotoGP next year and thus filling in Miller's spot.

    Although I cannot say I dislike Lowes, he really hasn't shown much progress and has binned the bike more than a few times this year. Right now, Aleix Espargaro is showing signs of improvement and so is his brother on the KTM but Bradley still seems to be suffering a bit. It was kind of funny listening to the commentators during practice this weekend, talking about Redding and how he was losing his Ducati ride, yet seeing his name in the top 5 of the time sheets. They even had to pause and mention that, I guess they found that ironic as well.
     
  3. Thumbs

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    Lowes has had some back luck with machine failures, including loos of feel at the front, which has slowed him down, last time he got the bike up near the lead the engine blew

    He was also part of the winning Suzuka team this year so obviously has talent

    The Austrian MotoGP was a good race, Dovi deserved the win, another Ducati win to add to the sales blurb for the new V4 in September ... Marquez sliding the Honda around again was a pleasure to watch

    WTF is Lorenzo playing at again? Zoom off in front for the first few laps, finally looking like he can control the bike and finish nowhere

    Expect more from Suzuki, if Michael Dunlop can break 17 minutes for the TT course plus other recent wins its just a matter of time until they're quick

    The 1st Ulster GP Superbike race was just won by Bruce Anstey on a RCV213, only just beating Peter Hickman on a modified road bike, a BMW
     
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    2nd Superbike race saw the RCV retire after 1 lap, in lap 3 Hickman blew his BMW up and instantly got off the road, no oil despite his motor belching out thick clouds of smoke ... he can't complain he was thrashing the bollocks off it against the RCV 24 hrs before

    Very close racing between Dan Kneen on a BMW and Dean Harrison on a Kawasaki, swapping places inches apart at 195 on roads saw the lap record go twice, with Harrison getting a lap in just shy of 135mph, his eventual win was a text book demonstration of mutual trust, on the hairpin near the end of the last lap Harrison stuck his wheel just in front of Kneen who yielded just enough so they didn't crash then the 2 of them sprinted to the line with Harrison winning by 0.02 seconds ...Dorna would have banished Harrison to Siberia for the move

    The Supersport races were great, the onboard with Bruce Anstey on the Padgetts Honda showed his rev counter with a 15,000 red line, to the right was a light which only came on when he crossed 15,000 ...it was on a lot

    There was a 2 lap lightweight race with some 250 and 125 two strokes, the first 3 leaders retired before the end of lap 1 with dead motors ....the noise was ear splitting, in Irish road racing decibel rules don't exist for 2 strokes
     
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  5. Thumbs

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    Another WSB weekend, Chaz has certainly got the Ducati flying, straight into the lead in race 1 and no dropping it this time, some good riding further down the field, Camier continues to impress on the MV

    Race 2 just saw Chaz have to wait a few laps before taking the lead and holding it ...very thoughtful ride from Rea, he tried but when it was obvious he couldn't get back in front he calmed down and took a solid 20 points again, meaning there's only 100 points between them now

    Sykes continues to disappoint, I can see his ride next year going to one of the new bloods in BSB, Peter Hickman springs to mind as a perfect candidate

    Giuliano is moving back to BSB after a lack lustre time in WSB, a wasted season for him

    Kawasaki are really going to have to up their game when the V4 Ducati arrives
     
  6. Gator

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    I finally have caught up with Moto GP and WSBK races. Was away on vacation in Colorado.

    Thumbs your line "Dorna would have banished Harrison to Siberia for the move" almost had beer out my nose.

    Rea is 70 points ahead of Sykes but that is massive. I have to wonder if Chaz would be right there with Rea if he had not messed up so bad and did not have engine problems. He still might get close, should be ahead of Tom by the next race.
     
  7. OOTV

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    As far as Sykes goes, he still seems to be in the top 3 most of the time, he's also currently in second in the point standings and is usually well ahead of the rest of the pack in most races. I think his biggest weakness is tire management, or more to the point, lack of it. He starts out strong and then fades along with his tires. You also have to consider that Rae and Davies are probably just well ahead of the whole paddock. I think Sykes need to sink lower in the standings and place lower and lower each race before they will drop him.

    Back in MotoGP there's been some news...It looks like Tom Luthi will be joining Morbideli over at Marc VDS and Nakagami will be Crutchlow's team mate for 2018. I assume that means both Miller and Rabat are out at Marc VDS. Although I haven't heard or read anything about Rabat yet but Miller's move to Pramac was announced not that long ago. I don't think that MVDS is going to have theee riders. Nothing against Rabat but I don't think he has made any impression in MotoGP.
     
  8. mlap5150

    mlap5150 New Member

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    I read today (speedweek.net) that Rabat is going to Avintia Ducati, with Xavier Simeon taking the second seat in that team (meaning Barbera and Baz are out). Don't think it's official yet but still some surprising news.
     
  9. Thumbs

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    Coincidence you mentioning Marc VDS and Rabat ..the 2014 "championship winning" Moto 2 bike of Rabat was stolen from Marc VDS on Monday, on Tuesday an ad for the 2014 "championship winning" Moto 2 bike of Rabat appeared on eBay UK

    Turns out it's genuine and Marc VDS have issued a statement that the bike for sale is "one of 2 or 3" that were used during the championship year, in the first 2 meetings they used over 6 different frames, 3 engines, nobody could recall how many swingarms ....

    As for Sykes he's never going to come good now, Chaz and Johnny Rea are in a different class, like the year Marquez first hit MotoGP, everyone else now has to learn to ride like them, they're both such smooth riders
     
  10. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Seem Sykes had trouble keeping his tires under him the first few years on the Kawi, then seemed to get a handle on it. Now this year REA said at the beginning of this season the bikes are completely different, also said he to had to figure it out as well--- so maybe next year Sykes may have it figured out again


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  11. Gator

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    Very close qualifying in the UK today.
     
  12. OOTV

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    Crazy action today in Moto3! You can almost say it was a 21 rider battle for first! Good show in Moto2 as well. Would like to have seen a bigger set of battles in MotoGP for my taste, but alas it was not to be. Still worth watching though.

    So word from the MotoGP side is that Lowes is going to take Tom Luthi's place back in Moto2. Hopefully he can keep it on two wheels as he did suffer another crash today (I don't consider that a spoiler ;) ).

    They're saying that Bradley Smith's ride is jeopardy and rumor is KTM is considering having test rider Mika Kallio take his spot. I was hoping to see him do a bit better but he seems to be missing something. Hopefully he can find what's missing soon.
     
  13. Thumbs

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    Enjoyable race but Silverstone is such a boring track after watching BSB at Cadwell Park, so flat

    They should run MotoGP there, sort the men from the boys

     
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    It takes some major balls to pass on that track! I don't think the "boys" with multiple million dollar bikes would like tossing them down that track. lol
     
  15. Gator

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    I watched Moto GP, it was an OK race, rooting for Dovi. Hope to get to 2 and 3 tonight. Watched last weeks WSBK races and Moto America. Moto America has been very good racing.
     
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    WOW!!! Moto 3 Silverstone was awesome. I think that was the most passing for the lead in any race I have ever seen. 5 wide in corners, passing from 5th to 1st, back and forth. Anyone in the top 10 with 3 laps to go could win. Leaning on each other completely leaned over....4 wide!
     
  17. OOTV

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    Yep! It was crazy, didn't see the typical gap between front runners and mid pack either! It was one long gaggle of bikes with lots of passing, the commentators said they lost track!

    I do think we got robbed of a good show in MotoGP but happy with the outcome. Looking like it might be a fight to the very last race...
     
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    At one point mid race the announcer said that the first 19 bikes were only 2.5 seconds apart. Later he said 24 bikes were only 4 seconds apart. That is tight.
     
  19. OOTV

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  20. Echo3Niner

    Echo3Niner New Member

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    Yup; best guess is 6 weeks, which will mean he misses minimum 2 races and is ready for the flyaway races... The most insane season ever - lowest point total at this point for the leader, and tightest points spread at this point as well... Wonder what'll happen next?
     
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