2012 Silly Season

[zarn02]

thx

so they are just fillers... or can this be a bid for aprilla to start to collect data for a motogp bike

For '12 they're probably going to get stomped by the factory bikes. Hopefully not so badly that they're getting lapped consistently, but who knows. That said, they may be where we'll be looking to see some interesting racing. GP sure as shit hasn't had much of that for a few years...

Also, there's been talk that GP's Head Honcho wants to see everything go CRT by '13. Who knows if this is a serious threat, or if he's just blustering to try and get the factory teams to find some way to make GP interesting.

[OT]

Amusing that the factory teams can claim engines from the CRTs.....

[gm2]

thx

so they are just fillers... or can this be a bid for aprilla to start to collect data for a motogp bike

yes and no.  no OEM will be dumb enough to invest in prototype work just to have to give it away.  but start with an RSV4 (or whatever) engine and then figure out the best ways to hot rod it?  hell yeah.  not so much risk there.  and if they can supply the chassis too under these rules (they can..) then they have the best shot at being successful first.  until the Suter etc bikes get sorted, which they will.

plenty of discussion about this whole thing in the 1000cc in 2012 thread.

Also, there's been talk that GP's Head Honcho wants to see everything go CRT by '13. Who knows if this is a serious threat, or if he's just blustering to try and get the factory teams to find some way to make GP interesting.

well, all he's really said is he wants spec ECUs and rev limits by 2013.  see: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96261

he hasn't said anything about factory machines being able to be claimed -- that would for sure make all the OEMs quit.

Amusing that the factory teams can claim engines from the CRTs.....

or from eachother.  

direct incentive not to try to secretly run prototype engines under the guise of CRT (more fuel, more engines).  it's a self-reinforcing rule.  no way in hell are honda/yamaha/ducati going to risk having to give away their GP technology to eachother for, relatively speaking, peanuts.  but the list of things you can do to a production case aren't secrets.  it's just a matter of how good you are at it.

[thought]

i wonder if this will be a way to get kawasaki back into the motogp ring.  i'd like to see that, might be a rebirth of a full out program.  and i have no doubt that aprilia is going to use this time to see how much more they need to push the rsv4 to be a legit motogp bike.

[fastwin]

Or make the 'priller a more bad ass WSBK bike.

I would hate to see the current Moto2 format take over the premier class. I love the prototype class bikes. Please don't push me to watch only WSBK races because of them dumbing down the preimer GP class to NASCAR levels.

[derby]

Or make the 'priller a more bad ass WSBK bike.

I would hate to see the current Moto2 format take over the premier class. I love the prototype class bikes. Please don't push me to watch only WSBK races because of them dumbing down the preimer GP class to NASCAR levels.

what would be acceptable? the level of spending required to maintain a pure prototype class isn't sustainable.

[zooom]

what would be acceptable? the level of spending required to maintain a pure prototype class isn't sustainable.

not with dwindling sponsorship money...

Kevin Schwantz even said the same thing here as to more or less why Suzuki folded as a contributory reason....

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2011/Nov/111123x34x34.htm

....like we've seen with our friends at Suzuki pulling out of racing. The cost has gotten so big for manufacturers, and the sponsorship dollars have gotten so much smaller, that unless you are Honda or maybe still Yamaha, it's a tough nut to crack. It's hard to make sense of that, especially with 18 different races on the calendar.....

[gm2]

i wonder if this will be a way to get kawasaki back into the motogp ring. 

haven't paid super close attention but there was talk of 1 potential CRT entry that was to be based on a kawi.

[desmoquattro]

Hayden Injured in a flat track accident, doubtful for Sepang test:
http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/12/hayden-injured-in-winter-training-accident/

[zooom]

I wonder who the slower rider was?!?!?!

[desmoquattro]

I wonder who the slower rider was?!?!?!

My first guess:

[fastwin]

I don't know where else to put this. We have a RACE STUFF tread on our DFWM board but I wasn't allowed to put one here. Regardless, this is worth posting!

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2011/Dec/111230kris60.htm

Happy Birthday King Kenny Roberts!! Although belated!!

Oh, and on a somber note, Dec, 29th 1973 marks the death of the great Cal Rayborn. God only knows what he would have accomplished on a race bike had he lived past this sad day. His passing and Rusty Bradley's have always left me with a sense of melancholy and a "what if" mind set. Lord knows how those two racers could have changed the bike racing world! "What if" indeed.