2016 MotoGP/ WSBK/ Road Racing ThreadMotorbikes

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

There's no doubt the team will be less without him as a rider. In fact the sport as a whole will be less without him, he's one of the very few sportspeople who are bigger than their sport, Usain Bolt and Ronnie O'Sullivan are similar examples.

Well aware, I've been a fan of the sport since I was a kid 20 years ago. I've seen similar legends in other forms of racing. Thing is people aren't eternal no matter what he brings to the sport for you or others is fleeting. Also not really seeing what this has to do with people in the wings.

 

[lancia delta hf]

There's no doubt the team will be less without him as a rider. In fact the sport as a whole will be less without him, he's one of the very few sportspeople who are bigger than their sport, Usain Bolt and Ronnie O'Sullivan are similar examples.


Anyhow, a great couple of races today. Shame that the Moto 2 was ruined by the jump starts and terrible work dealing with them by race direction.
The Moto 3 was up to it's usual standard with a very impressive ride from Bulega in his second race and I don't think anyone thought Antonelli won as they crossed the line.
In the gp Lorenzo showed his class, made his move at the right time and was good enough to keep the Ducati behind him on the straight. 👍
People booing him on the podium however 👎👎👎

He's an odious little rat, thumbs up from me to people booing him, i have never felt my skin crawl by any sportmens before but when i see his face i genuinly want to punch his teeth down his throat the little s@##.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Meanwhile, Bradley Smith will join KTM's factory team in 2017. I have to admit that he wouldn't have been my first choice ... but then, I don't know who would be. Zarco, maybe, but I'd want someone from the premier class.

 

[twitcher]

Finally got a chance to catch up on the race. Good battle up front. Really happy to see the Ducatis on pace. It seems as though there are potentially 6, maybe even 7 guys who have a shot at winning races this year, which is good news.

The winglets on the bikes look bloody aweful. They can't go away soon enough!

Side note, if I ever get the chance, I would love to slap whoever is the program director in control of the cameras. Almost every lap, on the front straight, the camera would switch to a useless shot of the pit boards, on to the stupid camera on the tank looking back at the rider's head. We barely got to see the Ducati closing on JL, which was the main dynamic of the race. There were also several instances where the scrap for 2nd, 3rd, & 4th was hotting up, and the camera would switch to either the stupid tank camera, or the stupid ass-shot camera...neither of which provide any information about what is actually going on. I don't have a problem with those angles when absolutely nothing is happening, but I can't stand them when there is action to be seen. It's one of my gripes with motorsport in general actually, the desire to "add drama" with these awkward camera angles which provide little to no information. If the sport and the commentators would do a better job of educating viewers on actual racecraft, the racing would sell itself.

Anyways....looking forward to another classic season 👍

 

[tomhart9]

Although I do agree the Yamahas wings look terrible, I think the Ducatis look fairly smart.

I'm more fascinated by the engineering and fluid-dynamics behind them more than anything. Surely technical development of the sport should come before aesthetics? Aero has been the dominating factor in car motorsport for years, it's about time the motorbikes started to delve into the black art that is aerodynamics.

 

[Mike-ZENKAI]

@tomhart9, aerodynamic bikes have been there way back already
They changed the rules to get rid of this nonsense.

 

[adamp93]

@twitcher I completely agree about the camera angles. Normally Dorna provide great coverage but all the talk about the Ducatis being so much faster down the straight was hidden away for no reason.


@tomhart9 you're forgetting a massive problem in Moto gp: budget.
F1 has a lot of manufacturers plowing all their money into winning but Yamaha, Suzuki and Ducati (or their owners) don't put all their money into bike racing. Aerodynamics are the most expensive part of racing in terms of r & d and once that becomes a big factor in Moto gp HRC will leave everyone behind. Hence why the wings have already been banned from Moto 2 and will be banned from Moto 3 with the big class undecided as yet.

 

[twitcher]

Although I do agree the Yamahas wings look terrible, I think the Ducatis look fairly smart.

I'm more fascinated by the engineering and fluid-dynamics behind them more than anything. Surely technical development of the sport should come before aesthetics? Aero has been the dominating factor in car motorsport for years, it's about time the motorbikes started to delve into the black art that is aerodynamics.

All motorsport is purely for entertainment, so the asthetics should play a significant role.

Also, why is it necessary to poison the bikes with aero? Across all walks of motoracing, from touring cars to F1, aero has ruined the ability for cars to race closely. It's no secret in classes like F1 or WTCC that the aero dependence makes it so the cars can't follow each other through sweeping corners; but even in something as relatively un-aero dependant as a V8 Supercar, you hear the drivers talking about how sensitive the front aero of the car is, and how around tracks like Albert Park, it is really difficult to follow.

We need at least one form of racing to stay in the light to combat the evil dark art that is aerodynamic downforce.

 

[mustafur]

Meanwhile, Bradley Smith will join KTM's factory team in 2017. I have to admit that he wouldn't have been my first choice ... but then, I don't know who would be. Zarco, maybe, but I'd want someone from the premier class.

Kind of depends on KTM's budget, I can't see them being at the same Level as Suzuki atleast budget wise.

Bradley Smith Is a reasonable choice, last year he was top Satellite Rider.

 

[Sick Cylinder]

Kind of depends on KTM's budget, I can't seem them being at the same Level as Suzuki atleast budget wise.

Bradley Smith Is a reasonable choice, last year he was top Satellite Rider.

There is an interview on Crash.Net with Bradley about the KTM move.

I think it's a good move for Bradley and KTM - he's an experienced, hard working, methodical rider who is good with the press / sponsors.

Really enjoyed the race, but agree with other posters that the camera angles used failed to show what was happening on the straight - if they must show the pits etc why can't that be split screen in a corner of the screen.

Interesting to read that Crutchlow's crash was caused by the bike losing its place on the track - the same thing happened to Van Der Mark in the last World Superbike round - his settings went out of whack because the bike lost its position - I remember when the only person who needed to know where they were on the track was the rider!

 

[Tom]

Meanwhile, Bradley Smith will join KTM's factory team in 2017. I have to admit that he wouldn't have been my first choice ... but then, I don't know who would be. Zarco, maybe, but I'd want someone from the premier class.

Pedrosa is a name is that is consistently mentioned, with either Vinales or Rins taking the vacant places at Honda and Yamaha if Lorenzo jumps ship to Ducati.

 

[Sick Cylinder]

Pedrosa is a name is that is consistently mentioned, with either Vinales or Rins taking the vacant places at Honda and Yamaha if Lorenzo jumps ship to Ducati.

I suspect that Lorenzo is hanging on trying to get some more money out of Yamaha - Lin Jarvis has said it's the best deal Yamaha have ever offered him. There probably won't be any top level rider moves, but Yamaha have created a space in their junior team by not renewing Bradley and if they do the same with Pol they will have two slots available to groom a rider ready for Valentino's retirement.

I haven't seen anything to suggest that Pol could step up and on a side note - when Bradl was in Moto 2 I thought he was destined for big things, but his fire seems to have fizzled out.

 

[JockeP22]

Currently red flag in FP4 and nobody seems to know why.

Edit;
Could Michelin be causing another Indy-gate? Information
is coming in and there's wild speculation going on.


Edit 2;
Nice qualifying session.
"The race will be tough because Marquez is fast, but I'm not so bad."
said Rossi

 

[Mike-ZENKAI]

Scott Redding was lucky to stay on his bike. Michelin has a serious problem.
Awaiting further news.......

 

[adamp93]

They have withdrew BOTH rear tyre options for the race and will be forcing everyone to use the spare, safety tyre I think it's called. This is apparently the same compound as the medium but with a stiffer build to hopefully prevent another delamination. Scott's tyre hit him on the back:

 

[HKS racer]

Iannone,
stupidity reached a whole new level.

 

[spyrrari]

Yeah,indeed...What was Ianone thinking.....

Anyway,that bike change during the race ruined everything for Vale...damn,would have liked to see how the battle he had with Marc ended ....whas great till that moment!

With Lorezo out,this could become a very very interesting season ...



Spy.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Damn, not happy to have missed this round due to time differences, looked like a very exciting one. I have to find a replay of Iannone though

A first win still eludes Binder though

 

[JockeP22]

Iannone/Dovizioso reminded me of Alesi/Heidfeld:



And that's Iannone's fifth 0p in the last six races.

 

[twitcher]

That was a pretty crazy race, exciting stuff. I'm still in a bit of shock over that last lap looked like Rossi was shaking his head in disbelief as he crossed the line.

 

[adamp93]

What on Earth happened in that race? I could have got out there and scored points
Fair play to Marquez, he was a class apart on the second bike and Rossi got seemingly all the luck in the world to get second in the end. As for Iannone channeling his inner Pedrosa from 2006 I think he's made a decision easier if Lorenzo signs for Ducati.

Massive well done to Pawi as well, fantastic effort and bravery in those conditions.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

What was Ianone thinking.

I think the more challenging question is:

was Ianone thinking.

 

[ShiftingGears]

What an idiot. Iannone is wasting that seat.

 

[Mike-ZENKAI]

Interesting race again. To bad Michelin messed the tires up. After the compulsory bike swap Marquez was gone.

Iannone . Would have been nice to see the "Italian" discussion after the race inside the Ducati box.
He has gotten a 3 place grid penalty for Austin which seems mild.

Did you guys hear the cheers from the crowd when #99 went down? He was a shadow of his normal self, the tire problem has got into his head.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Did you guys hear the cheers from the crowd when #99 went down? He was a shadow of his normal self, the tire problem has got into his head.

Since Assen where he broke his collarbone a few seasons ago, his wet/ dry pace has been way off MM and VR. Remember he binned it at Misano or Mugello last year when it was a wet/dry race.

 

[Mike-ZENKAI]

Since Assen where he broke his collarbone a few seasons ago, his wet/ dry pace has been way off MM and VR. Remember he binned it at Misano or Mugello last year when it was a wet/dry race.

But this was a dry race.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Dry, but uncertain grip levels.

 

[Sick Cylinder]

Damn, not happy to have missed this round due to time differences, looked like a very exciting one. I have to find a replay of Iannone though

A first win still eludes Binder though

The highlights of the race are now available via the ITV Hub. I missed the highlights programme which I normally see on ITV4 on Monday evenings. I was disappointed not to be able to watch it on my laptop until this morning - but a very good race and well worth watching.

We don't know yet the situation with the tyres - the changes made were precautionary pending investigation of Redding's tyre - it may have been a one off faulty tyre - we will soon know.

The overhead replay shows that Ianone fell off his bike first and his falling bike then took out Dovi - I presume he lost the front on the brakes.

Great ride by Maverick Vinales - both he and Lorenzo were unlucky to hit a thin patch of damp tarmac that hadn't dried out.

Amazing riding by Marquez - the Honda looked the hardest to ride fast and was tank slapping and wobbling all over the place - even Pedrosa's bike was seriously unstable.

Very surpised by and pleased for Eugene Laverty getting 4th.

Anyone who hasn't seen the race yet is in for a treat!

 

[DK]

Laverty's 4th - finally, we Irish have someone to cheer for on the international stage again!

 

[Carlos]

http://www.moto-journal.fr/sport/vitesse/grands-prix/motogp-ca-se-precise-lorenzo-ducati/

So I guess it is pretty much official now? Interesting Looking forward for the race tomorrow!