I wish it would have been tighter though. Pedrosa has some flashes of genius but he's kind overrated. Honda keep him cause he's consistent with those #2 and # 3 points but without a true Alien I doubt they'll have a shot at the championship. It was sad to see Spies and Valentino crash.

Where's Hub, sad to see Ben go, hard to imagine he will get a good ride in GP now

All Lorenzo next year, have my doubts that Ben and Lorenzo were on the same bike.

Honda will have a drought for awhile I think,

Maybe to late for stoner if the chatter gets sorted now mid season it maybe to late, Lorenzo will take his 2nd places all year if it means winning the championship

Hub has been exiled from the forum.

All Lorenzo next year, have my doubts that Ben and Lorenzo were on the same bike.

Maybe to late for stoner if the chatter gets sorted now mid season it maybe to late, Lorenzo will take his 2nd places all year if it means winning the championship

Hub has been exiled from the forum.

What for a week or month,

Where's turtle

"nobody listens to turtle"

I know! kinda sad isn't it? I'm not sure how BG will deal with that but he said Hub could be back.

BG whats happening with Hub, he's been gone for 2 long.

Will bet Rossi, would love a jap bike don't see him beating Lorenzo on a Yammy unless he gets Bens bike and then will struggle

Yammy or Honda, won't want an outsider beating the factory bikes, so is unlike to get the best machinery from the outside

Duc have few options, but don't see much for Rossi there

too many riders not enough bikes

Hub what happened to your man Ben, sad to see him miss the mark.

Yammy or Honda, won't want an outsider beating the factory bikes, so is unlike to get the best machinery from the outside

Looks like Ben wanna go try that 1000RR in WSBK, I can see him replacing Haslaam but don't think he can touch Melandri.

I heard Audi was telling Rossi they would change Ducati's slow response to his requests to satisfy him. Even so, I can't see him wanting to do another year of development on the chance that Ducati MIGHT be able to compete. He's in a bad spot. Of course now that his bike is wrecked, it's the perfect time for upgrades!

BG whats happening with Hub, he's been gone for 2 long.

He can come back if he will stop attacking others with hateful messages and running the new guys off. I will need to hear from him that he agrees to that, and I don't really expect to. I imagine he's pretty upset with me. I haven't had any communication from/with him since he's been gone. He can use the "Contact Us" form if he wants to come back.

We are really missing his technical expertise, but I sure don't miss the rest... -bg

We are really missing his technical expertise, but I sure don't miss the rest... -bg

somehow, I think that says it all.

Sad to see him gone, Dogo wish him well the next time you see him.

rossi to yamaha linky

Wow

I don't watch reality shows but if they come up with one for Yamaha, I'm watching lol

As always Rossi will fake the smiles if the going gets tough. Too bad Casey is living!

* Last updated by: dragking on 8/11/2012 @ 1:11 PM *

"he is also planning a switch to World Superbikes in 2015"
didn't expect that.

didn't expect that.

.

NINJA ZX-14 MotoVlog

There u go Kofla! This is where you shoulda posted it in the first place!!! I watched qualifying and everybody was crashing. A D should get a factory ride. Third best time when Lorenzo is nowhere to be found.

There u go Kofla! This is where you shoulda posted it in the first place!!!

Lol, that is why I deleted the other one. Apparently money is tight for everyone, not even Edwards is getting a factory ride.

Kofla

NINJA ZX-14 MotoVlog

These are symptoms of why I think MotoGP will force the factory bike specifications downward closer to the claiming rule bikes.

1) Less expensive
2) Closer racing excites fans
3) Possible increase in grid sizes excites fans

We may appreciate it greatly when Stoner or Pedrosa runs away from everyone and makes it a 1 or 2 bike race, but the fans as a whole hate it.

All MotoGP races are anymore is a 1 or 2 (or gasp 3!) bike fight for 1st place, and a mid-pack fighting for one podium spot and points.

Too many decent riders crash out because they are dialing back traction control trying to go faster.

Push them all down onto claiming rule bikes, and much of this will take care of itself.

I can't think of any sports in which I enjoy big gap! Even if I am playing and winning. It's just too boring.

Looks like Pedrosa has his favorite circuits. It seems to do good on tighter stuff so I don't expect him to win at Brno. Also I think Cal will be closer to Dovi. It's a shame Spies couldn't continue. Which reminds me why I'm not a fan of Pedrosa, he wins when at least one of the top riders have a problem plus he passed Spies in a straight. Still, you got to finish to win and I shouldn't discredit his talent.

To go back on what privateer said: the solution to me would be to allow all tire manufacturers to supply moto GP, this way everybody will be able to create a chassis specific to their brand and capitalize on its different characteristics. The move could bring Ducati back from the dead in my opinion.

Northern irish man /moto gp

dragking wrote:

To go back on what privateer said: the solution to me would be to allow all tire manufacturers to supply moto GP, this way everybody will be able to create a chassis specific to their brand and capitalize on its different characteristics. The move could bring Ducati back from the dead in my opinion.

But think about it a minute. They already build the chassis and suspension to the tires, so changing tire brands and changing the bike design wouldn't yield an marked improvement, they just build it using the same process they do now.

Besides, using the same brand and type levels the playing field.

What we need is more leveling of the playing field. If your fav [insert rider name] is so good, then even if every single bike is identical, s/he should win, right? And if they don't win, whats that tell you? Thats racing.

The problem that ended 500cc 2-stroke was, beyond safety problems (which were solvable), whichever factory spent the most money and lured the best rider won everything all the time. Remember the years Rainey and Yamaha flat cleaned everyone else's clocks race after race? That was purely engineering $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and Wayne's skill. But other non-Yamaha riders could have changed the results if they had Wayne's bike and factory team support.

Anyway, I see current MotoGP going the way of the dodo bird just like 500cc 2-stroke (which was way more exciting to watch in person than current MotoGP - the smells, the sounds, the slides, all better) and MotoGP making all Moto1 bikes Claiming Rule bikes. Then we'll see whos good and whos not. Some of those backmarkers now might actually win something when they are not out $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$-ed.

* Last updated by: privateer on 9/10/2012 @ 6:37 AM *

Oh Well

privateer; Ducati did say their biggest problem was they couldn't get their chassis to work with the new tire spec.

But think about it a minute. They already build the chassis and suspension to the tires, so changing tire brands and changing the bike design wouldn't yield an marked improvement, they just build it using the same process they do now.

privateer; Ducati did say their biggest problem was they couldn't get their chassis to work with the new tire spec.

Yep!

Even at Yamaha, when he was winning all the time, Rossi said he didn't like the Bridgestone rear. However, he said several times that the front was superb. He's not the only one, Casey Stoner doesn't like the rear (major chatter issue) and voiced his opinion several times. It is true that all the bikes in the GP are built around Bridgestone tire That being said manufacturers like Ducati take pride in being stubborn and making bikes that are a little different. As a Now the thing I would like to know is the characteristic of the Ducati chassis which makes the bike fast in the rain!!!!!!
Besides, Bridgestone has like 40% of the market and although tire technology is evolving at the speed of light, we could use more competition.

You both have good points. I just think we have to go more towards Claiming Rule not further from it. Open tire choice would just drive us further away, towards whomever has the most money and best engineers winning the championship.

One of the reasons Nascar is the most attended, highest grossing sporting event in the world is because the rules push all the cars into a narrow configuration, making the contests as much luck as skill, and very little of it depends on who has the most money.

The problem with 500cc 2-stroke GP was money was winning, Yamaha outspent everyone and it showed. Didn't hurt they had Rainey, but that was just more money getting the best guy on the best bike.

I find that kind of race boring, as much as I enjoyed watching Rainey et. al. come down the corkscrew at Laguna Seca.