Ducati Monster Forum

Smrz fast in FP1.  no way, i can't believe it.

http://www.crash.net/world+superbikes/results/168399/1/assen_-_free_practice_times_1.html (http://www.crash.net/world+superbikes/results/168399/1/assen_-_free_practice_times_1.html)

i wonder if someone will tell Fabrizio there are two races this weekend?

Any Speed coverage for this weekend? 

2 and 3pm, PST.

http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/date/2011-4-17/timezone/pt (http://www.speedtv.com/schedule/filter/date/2011-4-17/timezone/pt)

Q1

1. Jakub Smrz CZE Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1min 36.058s
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 1min 36.287s
3. Marco Melandri ITA Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 1min 36.494s
4. Michel Fabrizio ITA Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000 1min 36.550s
5. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R 1min 36.747s
6. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 36.878s
7. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 36.989s
8. Eugene Laverty IRL Yamaha WSBK YZF R1 1min 37.824s
9. Jonathan Rea GBR Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 1min 37.863s
10. Noriyuki Haga JPN PATA Aprilia RSV-4 1min 37.106s
11. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 1min 37.114s
12. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1min 37.364s
13. Leon Camier GBR Aprilia Alitalia Racing RSV-4 1min 37.373s
14. Ruben Xaus ESP Castrol Honda CBR1000RR 1min 37.424s
15. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia S1000RR 1min 37.613s
16. Barry Veneman NED BMW Italia S1000RR 1min 37.718s
17. Maxime Berger FRA Supersonic Ducati 1098R 1min 37.853s
18. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1min 37.899s
19. Chris Vermeulen AUS Kawasaki RTS ZX-10R 1min 38.452s
20. Roberto Rolfo ITA Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 38.587s
21. Mark Aitchison AUS Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 38.713s

jonathan green: Vermeulen unbelievably remains peppy after two engine failures on his much awaited return only one bike left but can make superpole tomorrow

d'oh!

http://motomatters.com/news/2011/04/15/2011_wsbk_assen_friday_photos_from_miche.html (http://motomatters.com/news/2011/04/15/2011_wsbk_assen_friday_photos_from_miche.html)

Vermuelen goes 14th fastest in FP2.

Then not listed in Superpole....

Was he abducted by aliens?

Can't find a word anywhere.

What's up with Checa?

"Checa has checked out"

SUPERBIKE
Superpole 3
SBK
1. C. Checa
1'35.292
2. J. Smrz
1'35.560
3. E. Laverty
1'35.580
4. N. Haga
1'35.920
5. J. Rea
1'36.138
6. M. Biaggi
1'36.302
7. T. Sykes
1'36.351
8. M. Melandri
1'37.036
9. L. Camier
1'35.903
10. T. Corser
1'35.954


Superpole - Assen 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJy2BpsCnfk&feature=player_embedded#normal)

Both SBK races were great. Congrats to Rea on his win in Race 1. Max and Carlos were getting it on in Race 2.  [clap]

;D

My DVR shut off the second race.  [bang] [bang]

All the guys in the first race were in the second, one of them won.  :D

wrong again dear...

Vermeulen DNS the second... ;D

Interesting races, particularly #2. So Checa ran a soft rear in the 2nd race - do we know for sure that he ran a hard in race 1? If he did, that was a really bold decision to go to the soft for the next race.

Melandri's a wild man. Way to make friends and influence people  ;D

Really impressive runs by Rea, especially considering his injuries. And I don't think he mentioned his wrists  [thumbsup]

Now on to Monza. Bet Max won't have any complaints about tires there.

Do you know why? injury or ran out of engines?

yeah...yeah you know what I meant.  :D

Just watched race 2

holy cow I didn't think CC was gonna get it back [clap]

Max had to have been pissed.

He was doing his thing and all the sudden he couldn't put the bike where he wanted. There was a ducati in the way :D

What a great finish to race 2.  With the speed of Aprilia, I thought Max as going to pull away.  Great move by Checa to reclaim the lead!

So what happened over the Winter ?

Did the 1098 R get faster or did the Aprilila get slower ?

Dolph

Checas balls grew

Although I don't follow WSB that closely, it seems that Checa had a really good race plan wrt making that last strategic pass.  He took Biaggi at a difficult point on the track, but where he could effectively get some distance due to the (non-factory) Duc's better tires/handling and prevent Biaggi from getting close enough on the straights, where Max's bike would be faster, to reclaim the lead....

BTW - what happened to the "A-style" posters and billboards?  [evil]

and Max's shrunk some ?

Not likely, he spanked Checa in Race 1. (21sec)

SBK Race 1 - Assen 2011 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkVZwbVIt10#normal)

Which race counted for Chanpionship points 1  and 2 or just 2 ?

Dolph

Both.

The eurosport guys said it was injury.

Didn't they force them to use the normal belts/chain and do away with the trick valve "kit?"

Checa is riding more consistently.

The Duc was fast last year as well. Checa was flat out spanking everyone in both races at Miller last year...until his bike quit on him with electrical gremlins. He had a huge gap on Biaggi in both races prior to his problems. The factory team was slow due to the riders.

Toseland was actually a really good commentator, lots of insights and good observations from him.  Checa making the soft tire work even when pushed hard at the end was impressive.  He's got a nice cushion of points now to suffer through the faster tracks.

That's my understanding. There was something in the rules that allowed them to run the gear driven cam set up last year. The specifics of the rule fail me at the moment, but now they have to run the stock street set up like everyone else. Someone who knows the rules better should chime in with a more clear explanation. ;D

Someone is gonna kick Melandri in his nutsack if he keeps this up.  It might even be his teammate.  In the meanwhile, I'm loving it.  

I'm still perplexed by Rea.  And the BMWs.    

Assen always makes for guuuuud racing.   [thumbsup]


It's definitely a cushion, but it's not that strong.  All it takes is one weekend of Max getting 1st and him getting 5th and Checa's lead won't be much at all. 

the duc and checa were very fast last year, also.. at tracks that aren't monza/monza-ish.  and now that bike basically is the factory bike.


 [thumbsup]


hell yeah.  those passes were all pretty ragged.  and awesome.


i think if his wrist(s) started to bother him he wouldn't say it.



like the kawis, they haven't figured out how not to eat up the rear tire yet.

Yeah, but it's more than just that.  Last year, I thought he'd be one of the front-runners with Biaggi, given the tear he went on in late 2009 (IIRC).  But then he'd alternate between brilliant and mid-pack, with an occasional rookie-lookin' raggedy Biaggi-at-Donington type of ride thrown in to boot.  I know some of the inconsistency is that the Honda is fickle and it's hard to get it set up.  And this season can mostly be chalked up to riding injured.  But I still feel like he should be consistently up front more than he is, especially if he has MotoGP aspirations.

The BMWs (and the kwaks) show that it's a lot easier to build a bike that's powerful than a bike that is well-balanced.

+ whateveritisnow on Toseland as a commentator.  I mean, he's gotta be good at something.  He is teh suxor at racing. 

[laugh].  i know 2007 is now 4 years ago but he still gets credit for killing it that year. 

still, probably a better commentator now.  he sure as hell was on it in terms of who was doing what and what exactly the track was like in any given corner.  he brings a true racer's view to things, even moreso than martin

Since this is an Assen thread and we're talking about way back when JT could still ride a motorcycle, wasn't it Assen 2007 where he and Bayliss beat the shit out of each other for the last coupla laps in an epic battle?

I wish JT was on this year's Yamaha.  Then we could tell if he is really broken or if it was just a bad stint in GP followed by shitty luck/bikes since then.  Until he proves otherwise, I think it's the former.  

Edit:  Ahhh . . . found the good stuff.  Enjoy.

WSBK Assen 2007 race 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bds9X7GBxeQ#normal)

Holy shit what a great race for Checa!! Just watched race #2 and damn! What a race? He kicked ass with Max on his tail. Does it get any better? ;D Again, I also love MotoGP but the racing in WSBK is just awesome!!

You want to see some good racing buy the 2009 WSBK season on DVD.

Troy did some amazing racing .

He was so fast on some of the tracks you'd think the other guys just gave up.

You can see a " Duc " pretty much fly !

Dolph

I'd pay a ton of money to see footage of Troy smoking people on a Duc in WSBK in 2009.   ;D

2008. Haga & Fabrizio were the Duc riders in 2009 & 2010.

since we're talking assen and 2009, where there was no troy, the ben in race 1 was some of the best racing i've ever seen.  that move on haslam was amazing.. then was quickly overshadowed by that unbelievable move on haga.  schwantz said something like, sure, i've considered passing there.  but i would never do it.



his stint in GP wasn't bad.. until they took the michelins away from him.

I love Assen.

World Superbike Assen Netherlands 4-26-2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1i_td6Xv28#normal)

make the beast with two backsING AMAZING.

+!

God Damn phenomenal!!!

I think that was the point I realized you were right about Ben...

not the wanting to have his kids part though. ;)

 [laugh] [popcorn]

Just watched the WSS race...CARNAGE!!  :o :o

Me too. What a crashfest! I am so glad Davies won. Huge fan of that youngster. [thumbsup]

Great vid of the '09 Assen WSBK race! I remember that one well. The Ben was the king of that day for sure. [clap] [bow_down]

I was glad to see him win as well.  [thumbsup] The Triumph just didn't seem to be up to the task last year.

He was staying in the same hotel as us last year at Miller. I saw him eating the complimentary breakfast on race day. No fancy tents and buffets for the WSS guys apparently!  [laugh] He seemed like a nice guy...BS'ing with another fan as they ate.  [thumbsup]

i think that was the point where everyone in wsbk who hadn't been watching him race mladin the previous 3 years realized that bayliss was right and that they were all in deep doodoo.

hellz yeah for chaz!!

Big time +!!!!!! [thumbsup]