Ducati Monster Forum

LCR's former rider Randy de Puniet is also out on track, but this time on the Suzuki 800. No decision has yet been made on the factory's future involvement, but Paul Denning and the team are soldiering on in the hope of persuading Suzuki top management to fund the program for next year.

http://www.motogp.com/en/photos/latest+photos (http://www.motogp.com/en/photos/latest+photos)

(http://photos.motogp.com/2011/11/08/rossi_preview_big.jpg)

Sorry Vale...praying won't make that thing go any faster...

if the intention was to change *nothing* about the bike except the frame material, 4th fastest aint too bad.  esp since corse refuses to even call that bike the GP12 yet.

if the intention was to change *nothing* about the bike except the frame material, 4th fastest aint too bad.  esp since corse refuses to even call that bike the GP12 yet.

this isn't just frame material. this is a full perimeter AL frame with the engine not a stressed member.

http://motomatters.com/results/2011/11/08/2011_valencia_post_race_day_1_test_times.html (http://motomatters.com/results/2011/11/08/2011_valencia_post_race_day_1_test_times.html)

Pos    No    Rider    Bike    Time    Diff    Diff previous
1    26    Dani Pedrosa    Honda    1:32.186         
2    27    Casey Stoner    Honda    1:32.322    0.136    0.136
3    11    Ben Spies    Yamaha    1:33.226    1.040    0.904
4    14    Randy de Puniet    Suzuki    1:33.544    1.358    0.318
5    35    Cal Crutchlow    Yamaha    1:33.652    1.466    0.108
6    46    Valentino Rossi    Ducati    1:33.857    1.671    0.205
7    4    Andrea Dovizioso    Yamaha    1:33.859    1.673    0.002
8    8    Hector Barbera    Ducati    1:34.174    1.988    0.315
9    0    Stefan Bradl    Honda 800    1:34.330    2.144    0.156
10    17    Karel Abraham    Ducati    1:34.393    2.207    0.063
11    69    Franco Battaini    Ducati    1:35.371    3.185    0.978
12    0    Kousuke Akiyoshi    Honda    1:35.728    3.542    0.357
13    22    Ivan Silva    BQR Inmotec    1:37.159    4.973    1.431
14    31    Carmelo Morales    Suter BMW    1:38.989    6.803    1.830
15    0    Gianluca Nannelli    Gapam BMW    1:39.173    6.987    0.184
16    0    Federico Sandi    Gapam BMW    1:39.827    7.641    0.654

I suppose I shouldn't be discouraged that the 800cc Zuke is faster than the 1000cc Ducati...new chassis and all. But damn...

I suppose I shouldn't be discouraged that the 800cc Zuke is faster than the 1000cc Ducati...new chassis and all. But damn...

they aren't expecting it to be faster, yet.

But even as he made the announcement, Preziosi stressed that this frame - an aluminium twin spar design - was very much a starting point, rather than the finished product ready to race. "The bike you will see tomorrow with the perimeter frame will be not the bike for the first race," Preziosi told reporters. "The bike you will see tomorrow is an experimental bike, really a prototype bike, to give to our designer the targets to design bike of the future."

The goal of such a move is to create a baseline, a starting point for the work that is to come. The first task of the aluminium perimeter frame is to replicate the existing frameless design, to understand the changes as Ducati moves forward on this new path. "At this stage, we would like just to realize a bike with a different kind of chassis but with exactly the same geometry and weight distribution as the current bike uses," Preziosi explained.

Ducati was not expecting a step in performance, Ducati's MotoGP boss emphasized, as they knew that the existing geometry and weight distribution will need to be changed going into the future. But following good engineering practice, they were changing just one variable at a time, to eliminate any interfering factors from the data.


that said, nice one RdP!

you shouldn't be... the guy on the suzuki is "interviewing" and the guy on the ducati is going through a test program.

I know, I know, I know...but still...it still like that first time you found out that there was no Santa Claus...no matter how rational the explanation, you can't help but feel let down.

imagine how valentino felt all year  ;)

...it still like that first time you found out that there was no Santa Claus...

imagine how valentino felt all year  ;)

I suppose I shouldn't be discouraged that the 800cc Zuke is faster than the 1000cc Ducati...new chassis and all. But damn...

Still wondering why the Duc GP bikes have screens on the exhaust outlets? ???

Wow...CRT bikes 5 seconds off the front. I forsee a lot of blue flags next season [coffee]

Still wondering why the Duc GP bikes have screens on the exhaust outlets? ???

I don't remember them being there before Rossi showed up. And if you'll recall, Rossi was one of the only GP riders to run a muffler, when he was on the Yamaha.

My guess, in no way supported by actual evidence, is that the screening on the exhaust tips decreases the noise somehow.

it's not like seeing the bottom of the grid satellite bikes be 3-4 seconds off, especially in a test, is unusual.

they've been there since the engine allocations started and they've specifically said they're there b/c of the above.  derby wasn't guessing.

who wants to bet Rossi is wearing Repsol orange and black in 2013?

who wants to bet Rossi is wearing Repsol orange and black in 2013?

who wants to bet Rossi is wearing Repsol orange and black in 2013?

With Casey back in Red?  Aw, shit.  Now we're gonna have to start a Silly Season 2013 thread.  And it's not even 2012 yet.  

who wants to bet Rossi is wearing Repsol orange and black in 2013?

I'll take that bet. Honda will have Stoner (and likely his 3rd title) and Pedrosa, with Marquez lined up for 2014 to replace Pedrobot. Why pay Rossi? He could be on a Honda though if Ducati don't get their shit together.

I think he'll be on an 1199 Panigale by then...and Claiming Rule Teams will have taken over MotoGP.

That would be cool. Seems it would be a massive pay cut for Rossi though so I doubt it. I could see Hayden on the 1199 though.

Hayden is too good of a rider to go to WSBK in 2013.  He's had shitty rides the last coupla years -- first a Honda designed exclusively for Douchey McNeverGonnaTakeTheTitle and then on the Duc. 

In that case, WSBK may become the premier racing series.

So is Rossi for that matter. But MotoGP is changing too, and it may devolve into something like a spec series with Claiming Rule Teams. In that case, WSBK may become the premier racing series.

right, cause f1 with spec tires and control ECUs turned into nascar...

just because the bling bar is being lowered to allow more teams to participate doesn't mean the show is going to get worse or the laptimes are going to get slower.

Hayden is too good of a rider to go to WSBK in 2013.  He's had shitty rides the last coupla years -- first a Honda designed exclusively for Douchey McNeverGonnaTakeTheTitle and then on the Duc.  

On another level I think someone should start a new thread just to keep track of all the hilarious "nicknames" this forum gives to Pedrobot! [laugh] They absolutely crack me up!! [laugh] [popcorn] ;D

That's not going to happen either.  Dorna's not stupid enough to allow the brand to deteriorate that much just to achieve cost-cutting and/or close racing.  People will continue to watch GP even if its boring as fack because it's undisputed that it's the best of the best.  

So, how about MotoGP racing with only 7-8 factory riders  (Aliens, Nicky, Ben +...).  Having to get excited about a battle for ninth place is getting old.

Other than '$dues' a premier class shouldn't need 15-20 riders; and Moto2 has shown what a major headache a HOG ride can be on a closed-course race...

Sounds like the most interesting news of the MotoGP off season is the CRT bikes. They are really just going to be cannon fodder for the grid. No way any of the CRT bikes will be up front with the factory bikes or on the podium. But it could make for some nice back of the pack CRT vs CRT bike battles. [popcorn]

Especially when Carmelo cuts the factory bikes to 19 liters.  ;D

...and square wheels.

He's during away with the rubber. They get to ride on rims.

on railway tracks set into the pavement like slot cars.