One tire rule confirmed at Japan for next year

[mitt]

[ducpainter]

The end is near....

[derby]

i don't like it, but it makes perfect sense. while michelin has had all the good teams locked up for the better part of two decades, it appears they've lost their mojo.

all of the championship capable riders are now on bridgestone or are going to bridgestone-running teams. (well, i guess everybody is going to bridgestone-running teams, now.  )

the unfortunate thing is that the single-tire rule is going to prevent another bridgestone coming into the class to develop their tires with the hope of being competitive. bridgestone toppled the giant, but it's unlikely we'll see it happen again in the near future (if ever).

[gm2]

on the surface i don't like it either.  but i do support it, simply because i think it will make the racing better.  it's not in the 'spirit' of MotoGP but i can get my head around carving out this aspect of a prototype series.  hell, just watch a wsbk race.

[tufty]

on the surface i don't like it either.  but i do support it, simply because i think it will make the racing better.  it's not in the 'spirit' of MotoGP but i can get my head around carving out this aspect of a prototype series.  hell, just watch a wsbk race.

Amen. I don't buy into the " MotoGP technology trickle down effect" for the rest of us.

MotoGP has been dominated by Michelin for years, Bridgestone has been making huge strides recently but if you go to your average club race/track day the vast majority of riders are on Pirellis, Michelin and a smattering of Dunlops with nary a Bridgestone in sight.

I'm not saying that it hasn't affected consumer tire technology, but various independent tire comparos rate all DOT Race tires fairly close to one another. You'd think that if MotoGP was such a huge test and development boon for consumer tires that Michelin would dominate.

[gm2]

MotoGP has been dominated by Michelin for years, Bridgestone has been making huge strides recently but if you go to your average club race/track day the vast majority of riders are on Pirellis, Michelin and a smattering of Dunlops with nary a Bridgestone in sight.

funny, in so-cal there are a lot of Dunlops and Bridgestones.  and a lot of ppl, me included, think the Pirelli and Michelin DOTs are crap.  or crap when the tire goes off anyway.

but i don't even care about the trickle-down connection.  wsbk has proven that if you take that piece out of the equation the racing gets A LOT better.  i'm interested in tire technology but it's waaayyyyy down my list in priority as a race fan.  i want to see the bikes and the riders compete, not the tires.

[derby]

wsbk has proven that if you take that piece out of the equation the racing gets A LOT better. 

i don't neccessarily agree with that. wsbk has only proven that a spec tire won't ruin your race series.

i think the racing got better because of the racers in the class: bayliss, haga, corser, biaggi, etc... that's a lot of talent.

yeah, maybe the tire situation leveled the playing field a little bit, but i don't think it's the reason the racing has been exciting.

[gm2]

...we're about to split hairs on "exciting" vs. "closer"

[darylbowden]

and a lot of ppl, me included, think the Pirelli and Michelin DOTs are crap

+1 

Michelin has been dominating GP for decades (and WSBK for a long time) and they're the last tire I would ever put on my bike.  If the trickle down theory is true (do Republicans run GP? - supply side tirenomics?) then either A) GP riders LOVE tires that give shit for feedback or B) you need to be riding at a GP pace to enjoy them.  The only person I know that runs Michelins are Robert Jensen and Dale Kieffer.  Robert gets paid a ton to do it and Dale sells them for a living so it's in his best interest to pretend that they're not total POS.

[gm2]

if i had a dollar for every time i've heard "I don't know what happened.  Suddenly I was on the ground" from Power Race users.

[tufty]

if i had a dollar for every time i've heard "I don't know what happened.  Suddenly I was on the ground" from Power Race users.

LOL, Easy there big fella. I'm still looking for reasons why I had an enormous lowside a month ago...

Power race, 2 laps in, knee down, maintenance throttle, WHAT THE FU.....!!

[gm2]

LOL, Easy there big fella. I'm still looking for reasons why I had an enormous lowside a month ago...

Power race, 2 laps in, knee down, maintenance throttle, WHAT THE FU.....!!

if the shoe fits....

pun intended. =)


and if you factor the cost of that lowside into it, Dunlops are downright cheap.   




yeah so anyway... single tire rule, good.

[Capo]

What we have yet to experience, is what will happen when the tire 'contract' comes up for bids and the incumbent loses to a low bid from a company that has not run its tires in the class for a few years.

[Speeddog]

What we have yet to experience, is what will happen when the tire 'contract' comes up for bids and the incumbent loses to a low bid from a company that has not run its tires in the class for a few years.

That'd be cool, the entire MotoGP grid on Tomahawks. 
Red, yellow, blue and green 'darkies' off of every corner.

[Grampa]

samecar

samebike