Ducati Monster Forum

Ben fastest in wet FP1 and FP2.

Making a statement...or has Jarvis lost his saboteur? [laugh] [laugh]

Saw that...

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2012/Sep/120928d.htm (http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2012/Sep/120928d.htm)

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2012/Sep/120928e.htm (http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2012/Sep/120928e.htm)

I must have misread on the gp site...could have sworn Ben was fastest in FP1. [bang]

holy crap. both of those had Hayden beating Rossi (well he usually does during practice)
but 1st and 4th.. wow

Nicky can usually produce at least one fast lap in the rain.

also looks like nicky is feeling better  [thumbsup]

Lorenzo Pedrosa Crutchlow Spies...

Nicky crashed late in qualy and was looking pretty hard at his hand.

Hope he's OK.

Johnny Rae on the third row in front of Rossi and Nicky.   [clap] [clap] [clap] [clap]

Looks like the Duc performance at Misano was a red herring.  :-\

Good to see Rea doing well.
A shame he's sentenced to another year on the Fireblade, while Marquez will be bending up the MotoGP bike.

Rossi crashed early in the session as well..

Guess what?  He lost the front. [roll]

Do the Duc MotoGP bikes actually have a front end? I thought they "lost" it years ago. ;)

Everytime I see what Aprilia is doing with their CRT I wonder if they aren't just going to jump into GP class and compete next year. They are consistently running with and above the back of the pack of GPs.

That make the beast with two backsing Ducati front end is going to kill someone.

dammit, that makes me so mad, you can see Hayden's front just push right through that corner.

Audi needs to bring the hammer down on Preziosi

Race results spoiler stuff...

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2012/Sep/120930a.htm (http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2012/Sep/120930a.htm)

Good for McMuffin McBrittlebones Pedrobot. I'm hoping George will win the championship but it would be nice for McMuffin McBrittlebones to keep it close and interesting. Might as well get some sort enjoyment out of the season. The CRTs certainly didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. [roll]

I will give minor kudos to Moto2 for having a handful of good races. I have successfully put my full time pregnant dog/rage over the loss of 250GP in the closet and have moved on. Well... sort of. [laugh]

Hayden ok? He went flying through the air pretty bad.
That bike is still pushing the front, Rossi ran off twice.

Reports are he's OK, but no comprehensive report about what injuries he did suffer.

Hard to believe absolutely nothing happened to him.

Maybe he got lucky. :-\

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2012/Ducati+Race+Aragon (http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2012/Ducati+Race+Aragon)

"...I came up on that wall really fast. I thought I might hit it headfirst if I jumped off, so I let go right before impact. I’m sorry to tear up the bike, but I’m thankful for great safety equipment and to be okay."

Could have been horrible.

Glad he's OK.

The way he flew over that barrier, I would call it a miracle.

The MotoGP race was a snoozer except for the Tech 3 boys.

Moto2 did not disappoint. I liked Iannone (sp?) before, but now I'm just a fan! the guy came in 4th, but damn it if he wasn't fighting for every piece of asphalt. At least he will be on a better machine than a CRT.

Speaking of CRT, I think that the teams with deep pockets will be riding an ART next year. That thing is the cream of the class. I don't see anyone even remotely close. When your 2 riders are all over the butt of the slowest prototypes, you know that you have a good bike. I doubt Aprilia will go all prototype on us, but they will definitely get some more customers.

The key was he did clear it.

If he hadn't it would have really hurt.

If they go back there next year...

I'll put money on air fence being there. ;D

Maybe my eyes are playing tricks with me, but I noticed the brake lines sticking out very far from the fork legs - under normal conditions, not only when compressed. That's not too strange, but a slow motion close up of the Honda seemed to show a clear brake line - I could (?) easily see through it. Do you know what that's all about?

Another: on the Ducatis there are some straight lines/rods following the fork legs all the way up under the fairings - what are they?

 

I think those lines/rods are there to keep the freaking front end on the bike! [laugh] Goofy Ducatis and their front ends. [bang]

In my opinion air fence should be everywhere around a track! [thumbsup] [Dolph]

suspension-travel sensor...

aprilia did have somewhat of a head start on the rest of the field. don't forget that they've been in (125 and 250) gp for almost two decades and the rsv4 used in worldsbk was (rumored to be) a "demoted" gp project.

i expected them to have a good package from the start.

That  was my guess.There was a lot of talk about Honda corporate searching for a cause of Dani's brake issue at Misano.

If it was a clear line it might have something to do with that.

I think what you saw was the brake line *and* a wheel speed sensor wire, they bundle those together and can give the illusion of a clear line.

Dunno why Honda loops those brake lines out like that, flirtin' with disaster IMO.

When you go to work for their MotoGp team, you can fix it.  :D

I'll eat broken connecting rods before I work for Honda.

Yes, I suppose it must have been like that.

Some pictures of the Ducatis show the same loops.

can you post an image of what you're referring to? if it's what i think it is, i think everybody does that to account for fork travel while accelerating/braking.

(http://stblogs.motorcyclistonline.com/files/2012/02/122-1202-01-o-dani-pedrosa-motogp-2012-sepang-track-map-623x415.jpg)

(http://cmgonline.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/nicky-hayden-2012.jpg)

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IX0PRLd9FKw/T4LdW9uT4mI/AAAAAAAAD7s/xVOqkjikfjc/s1600/Jorge-Lorenzo.jpg)

all those photos are showing compressed fronts. of course it's going to look 'looped'

exactly...

here's a pic of nicky's front "extended":

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F4JPu9-7wdo/T6U1GrbsrVI/AAAAAAAAV2o/0p-uumOTG6c/s1600/5_Hayden_12GPT06_1807_AN.jpg)

and rossi:

http://2wheeltuesday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Valentino-Rossi-GP11.1-Mugello-Test.jpg (http://2wheeltuesday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Valentino-Rossi-GP11.1-Mugello-Test.jpg)

Nicky's flight was worthy of Rodney Dangerfield's Triple Lindy in Back to School.

I so wanted to see Crutch stuff Dovi...

I did like how Rossi tried to pull a Biaggi and Rea treated him just the same...bump out and "oops, I didn't see ya there!"...

I mostly think the race was hohum though...when Dani was sniffing Jorge...I was hoping for the pass which I didn't get to see, but I knew it was coming...

I think the sleeper to watch though, is Stefan Bradl !!!

the way dovi rides, i really can't wait to see what happens on the monday after valencia.

i know it gets sorta boring from a viewer's perspective (thank god for those slow-mo shots), but that was a hell of a ride from dani.  at first i figured george would do his usual go way faster at the end thing, but pedro was gone.  better to just give him the 5 points.

man, that marquez kid sure has no racecraft.   ;)
 

I was bummed that JLo saved the highside. I don't want to see him get hurt or anything, but if he would have crashed out the championship would have gotten very interesting.

Nicky's crash was crazy. Looks like he tried to lay it down before the wall, but the tires caught and straightened him up.  :o I was hoping they had found something in the Duc last round, but doesn't look like it.

Boring race otherwise, but a nice ride by Pedro. I watched part of it on fast forward though.

I'm not taking anything away from the Turd. The guy realized early that he could set a faster pace. As soon as JLo had his pucker moment, the race was over.

The MotoGP commentators (EuroSport?) said that this was Lorenzo's MO based on his previous championship. Once he took the lead that he can protect the rest of the way, he just cruises it in. Dani needs to go balls out and Stoner will most likely come back with additional weight on that chip he carries. if I were Lorenzo, I would not be so confident. If the Repsol boys decide on team order, Stoner might become a giant roadblock. Of course we might see a repeat of "Repsol, Spanish for teammate".

I think the higher potential is for Casey in his comeback to give a big middle finger to HRC/Repsol by being a roadblock for both of them boys and putting wins in and taking points away from both of them...I am not sure Casey would play team so well in that standing orders thing...

This would be an example of the "Repsol = Spanish for teammate" scenario. Dani needs to win out AND have Lorenzo come in third place the rest of the way to even have a realistic chance. You can also pay Bradl or Bautista to t-bone Lorenzo in the first corner of one of the 4 remaining races.

Yes, the loop is there to allow for fork travel.

When I noticed it a few years back, nobody else was looping them outboard like that.
From what I remember, anyway.

Those pics show that the others are doing it that way too.
I'll have to look for it, perhaps I've not been paying attention to that. :P

http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/184570/1/pedrosa_wont_ask_for_stoner_help.html (http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/184570/1/pedrosa_wont_ask_for_stoner_help.html)

It wouldn't be Dani asking, but Stoner wouldn't care if the president of HRC asked either.

How many point do you get for 3rd place? First = 25, second = 20. The Turd can get a potential 100 points, so Lorenzo can take it easy in a race and potentially come in 3rd or 4th and still win the championship.

I'm waiting for the 2012 version of Pedro taking out Hayden.... [roll]

Danny can ride.  [evil]

Good race for 3rd place!

Why would anyone in their right mind want to ride for Ducati?  They're going to hurt someone.

Did Rossi say they used a different front end and swing arm in Italy but were only going to keep the swing arm for Spain?  



Moto2 was a good race.  Marquez is a turd.  When is he going to really hurt himself or some else?  Iannone should have kicked him off the track.  

What is going on with Marquez's bike?  Did he accidentally get a 750 engine or is he smaller than Danni-the-dbag?  He seems to out motor everyone on the straights?

you sure he's just not taking a better line/getting a better drive off the turns?

(http://photos.motogp.com/2010/11/04/marquez.pedrosa_slideshow_169.jpg)

huh?  all i saw was good racing.


i don't know (/have never cared to look) exactly what the rules are for what you can do to the moto2 engine, but it's well known that his bike has a LOT more money and development in it than most.
 

+1 and +1

+2

other than one of his classic cut back douche moves it was a great race.

I'd still pay to see Crazy Joe take a poke at him. ;D

How do you guys see the Rea/Rossi "incident"? Everyone agreed that it was a race incident, but you can clearly see Rossi on the race line and Rea "rubbing" him. It was not a big deal considering the run-off.

I think it was a non incident.

The look Rae gave Rossi during qualy was a bigger deal IMO.

agreed.  i don't really know where rossi thought he was going that time.  johnny didn't do anything wrong.

+1

I think Rossi thought he could brake deep and pass on the outside.  It didn't work out and he ran off track.  Just a miscalculation in my opinion.

I saw it as Marquez not able to pass him unless he bumped him out of the way.  Otherwise known as "his classic cut back douche move."  (see credit below)

 

nate called out 1 move.  he passed about 67 riders.

and rubbin' is racin'.  it's just that we haven't seen much since 2007.

I guess I've just become accustom to the boredom or a hate the little D-Bag Jr. so much that when he sneezes it bothers me? 



Although, it didn't bother me when Jorge and Rossi were rubbing elbows?   

i was gonna bring that up  ;)

it's certainly ok that you don't like him (because you need my approval.. lol), but i don't get it personally.  the guy is phenomenal and he wants to win.  there's way too many fast as shit riders out there who don't have the killer instinct.  getting to GP is one thing.  winning is another.
 

[cough] Ben?[cough]

unfortunately i have to agree.  something happened to him after 2010.   :'(

also underscores how hard it is to win there.  seeing the aliens do a processional every weekend totally skews the viewer's perspective.  running an entire race in 1st place with zero mistakes is mind-blowingly difficult.
 

...what he said.^ ;)

That's how they earned the nickname.

All you can do is add whatever exhaust system you want, and fuel (maybe also spark) map to the Spec ECU.

Otherwise, it's a sealed Honda 600 lump from the engine provider, Geo Technology.

then that kid gets off the corners REALLY well.
 

Maybe or not.  There were more than a couple straight runs that he started out neck and neck or slightly behind and pulled through and then sometimes lost the corner entry.  I'm thinking it's more than just a corner shot. Of course, being hooked up with Repsol and HRC doesn't hurt at times.   [roll]

He simply out motors everyone.  It's not the drive out of the corner.  If it was he would immediately start to gain when on the straights.  He starts to gain 2/3 down the straights.  And he's not taking advantage of the slipstream and he's not out breaking the others.



And the rubbing elbows, you're right, that is fun and part of racing.  But taking out someones front tire is a bit of a lowlife move.  I can understand if he did it once, got too close but it's becoming his signature move.

ok so with the ol adage of spec motors.. how the hell is he doing it?

I think the difference between Marqez's bike and others could be the money that Repsol has put in the chassis componentry and fairing dynamics somewhat. Sure there is money spent in the mapping and computer protocols that others probably aren't fully able to utilize, but I think they have spent more in maximizing the package.

That is one thing that I kinda like about Moto2 in comparo to GP currently, as the rider and frame/chassis builder can make the difference like in the old 250 days.

yup.. chassis, intake, and aero all all open.

...and it would make sense that the aero advantages come into play in the middle to end of the straight.

and the fact that he weighs only 3 oz. more than Pedrosa helps.

yup ;)

Carbon fiber skeleton also helps. ;D

recall that in qatar he was sometimes visibly holding off from passing on the front straight.  that bike is very slippery