2011 MotoGP Sepang 2 Test (Feb 22-24)

[fastwin]

Agreed. Good call. It's a toss up. Right now the Hondas are boss and everyone else is just playing catch up. It will be interesting to watch. But I think Casey will be Pedrobot's worse nightmare. Just sayin'.

[Speeddog]

  One advantage is that right now there are so many people who look good that if riders keep trading podium positions, they'll keep any single person from running away with it early.

That is indeed something great to look forward to. 

But if Rossi is consistently dicing with Bautista for 6th or 7th....
Even if the front pack are averaging 3rd place, that's 16 points, 6th is 10 points.


Day 3 at 11am

Good news is, Rossi is on track.
Bad news, still 1.8 sec adrift.

1   Casey Stoner        Repsol Honda Team   1:59.665       -               -   0
2   Dani Pedrosa        Repsol Honda Team   1:59.803   +0.138   +0.138   0
3   Marco Simoncelli   San Carlo Hon Gresini   2:00.163   +0.360   +0.498   0
4   Andrea Dovizioso   Repsol Honda Team   2:00.541   +0.378   +0.876   0
5   Ben Spies              Yamaha Factory     2:00.678   +0.137   +1.013   0
6   Colin Edwards   Monster Yam Tech 3   2:00.966   +0.288   +1.301   0
7   Jorge Lorenzo       Yamaha Factory      2:01.003   +0.037   +1.338   0
8   Alvaro Bautista   Rizla Suzuki MotoGP   2:01.194   +0.191   +1.529   0
9   Hector Barbera   Mapfre Aspar Team     2:01.346   +0.152   +1.681   0
10   Hiroshi Aoyama   San Carlo Hon Gresini   2:01.352   +0.006   +1.687   0
11   Valentino Rossi   Ducati Marlboro Team   2:01.469   +0.117   +1.804   0
12   Loris Capirossi   Pramac Racing Team   2:01.493   +0.024   +1.828   0
13   Nicky Hayden   Ducati Marlboro Team   2:01.567   +0.074   +1.902   0
14   Randy De Puniet   Pramac Racing Team   2:02.386   +0.819   +2.721   0
15   Toni Elias           LCR Honda MotoGP   2:02.410   +0.024   +2.745   0
16   Karel Abraham   Cardion AB Moto        2:02.547   +0.137   +2.882   0
17   Cal Crutchlow   Monster Yam Tech 3   2:02.757   +0.210   +3.092   0
18   T2                   Yamaha Test Team   2:03.016   +0.259   +3.351   0
19   T1                   Yamaha Test Team   2:03.049   +0.033   +3.384   0

[The Don]

The big difference between 2006 and now is the sharp end of the field now is really amazing, and riding under a regime bikes where the bike matters more than it used to. 

Can you explain why the bike mattermore now than in the past? Just about every year someone comes out with that line. I still think the cream will rise to the top no matter what bike they are on.

[Jester]

Can you explain why the bike mattermore now than in the past? Just about every year someone comes out with that line. I still think the cream will rise to the top no matter what bike they are on.

The modern bikes are run extremely heavy on electronics.  There is no more throttle control like the old days.  The bikes keep themselves from wheelies, acceleration is monitored by the computer to control wheelspin, allows nailing the throttle at lean when older bikes would have tossed you off, monitors fuel mileage/power output, etc.  Hell, they are so dialed in now that its literally mapped for every corner, gear, straight, that you might be in.   The pure rider ability still makes a difference for sure, but its not the same as the old days.  The bikes are so refined now, that if you aren't on a good package, forget it.  Casey might have been a wildcard on the Ducati, as simple as that.  The guy is comfortable on a machine that is on the edge of crashing all the time.  No one else has been any good on them(give Rossi time, but up front its not looking pretty... maybe shoot for 2012), and lots of fast guys have ridden the Duc.  I guarantee you put DePuniet back on the Honda and he's messing around up at the top of the timesheets.  The Honda is stupid fast this year.  Everyone else, good luck.  The Yams will do well on tight tracks, but anything that allows you to stretch your legs is going to kill them.  Its not that the riders don't matter anymore, its just that taking a dog of a bike to the podium would have been easier in the past than it is now.

[The Don]

Fair call on the technology, but its not like only one or two rider have it, it still takes an exceptional rider to extract the most out of what ever bike they are on.
Do you think Honda really taken that much of a jump forward or is it a little bit of technology and great rider combination. Surely in the few months that the riders have had off, the bikes couldn't have changed that much. The Yamaha won last year and ducati took a few wins towards the end of the year, surely its got to be close come race day.
I think we will have to wait until the third or fourth round to see what will come of this year. I dont want Honda to run away with the championchip, it make for boring racing, I remember the Dohan era.

[zooom]

Fair call on the technology, but its not like only one or two rider have it, it still takes an exceptional rider to extract the most out of what ever bike they are on.

Do you think Honda really taken that much of a jump forward or is it a little bit of technology and great rider combination. 

on your 2 things....1)while it does in fact require a good rider, it also requires to have just as good of a chassis set-up and crew to get your bike dialed in....look at last year and the number of times Depuniet was the lead Honda charging the front from the LCR satelite squad while the factory bikes were floundering in comparo....and I think it was a simple matter of getting his chassis set-up and running harder with less using the idea that less is more making the argument all about it being the rider and crew/chassis set-up....but as the Honda's get dialed...like you see now, ALL the Honda's are practically raging animals taking the front...

2)yes, I do think Honda took a huge leap forward...having the riding staff that they have is a huge compliment, but with a dog of a bike, a great rider in the 800 era is still going to wallow behind(look at the Zuke and the Hayate for great examples of that in the past)....but even a 2nd tier rider on a great bike is going to make headway...look at Simo and Dovi for example whom are not "aliens" and yet are still pressing the frontal edge of the time sheets.

[gm2]

simo was gonna be this fast, it just took him half a season to acclimate..then there was noise in the signal since HRC was still figuring out the 212 until later last year.

dovi is fast, he just doesn't have the killer instinct.

the other major difference from 2006 is tires.  now all the bikes are built around a single tire rather than being able to choose a tire that works for your bike.  some do this well, others struggle... or they all struggle with it on any given track.

[gm2]

Thursday 6pm:

1.    Casey Stoner    AUS   Repsol Honda Team    1m    59.665s   (37)
2.    Dani Pedrosa    ESP   Repsol Honda Team    1m    59.803s   (38)
3.    Marco Simoncelli ITA   San Carlo Honda Gresini    2m    0.163s   (46)
4.    Andrea Dovizioso    ITA   Repsol Honda Team    2m    0.541s   (45)
5.    Ben Spies    USA   Yamaha Factory Racing    2m    0.678s   (32)
6.    Colin Edwards USA   Monster Yamaha Tech 3    2m    0.966s   (29)
7.    Jorge Lorenzo    ESP   Yamaha Factory Racing    2m    1.003s   (48)
8.    Alvaro Bautista ESP   Rizla Suzuki MotoGP    2m    1.194s   (34)
9.    Hiroshi Aoyama    JPN   San Carlo Honda Gresini    2m    1.328s   (48)
10.    Hector Barbera    ESP   Aspar Team    2m    1.346s   (21)
11.    Valentino Rossi    ITA   Ducati Team    2m    1.469s   (59)
12.    Nicky Hayden USA   Ducati Team    2m    1.469s   (71)
13.    Loris Capirossi    ITA   Pramac Racing Team    2m    1.493s   (39)
14.    Cal Crutchlow GBR   Monster Yamaha Tech 3    2m    2.034s   (50)
15.    Randy de Puniet    FRA   Pramac Racing Team    2m    2.155s   (42)
16.    Toni Elias    ESP   LCR Honda MotoGP    2m    2.410s   (57)
17.    Bike #T1    JPN   Yamaha Test Rider    2m    2.457s   (40)
18.    Karel Abraham    CZE   Cardion AB Motoracing    2m    2.506s   (55)
19.    Bike #T2    JPN   Yamaha test Rider    2m    3.016s   (13)

http://www.crash.net/motogp/results/166930/1/sepang_ii_motogp_test_times_-_thursday_6pm.html

4 factory hondas, p1-4.  uh oh.

[gm2]

Rossi: We are quite worried.

[mitt]

Rossi: We are quite worried.

When a satellite rider beats both factory riders, it is a good sign to be worried.

mitt

[gm2]

[Drunken Monkey]

Interesting tidbit:

There are allegations Honda is using a dual-clutch design in contravention of the rules:

http://gpone.com/index.php/en/news/35-in-evidenza/2970-honda-rc212v-il-segreto-nella-frizione.html

Mind you, more interesting to me are the average times on the longest runs (i.e. the fastest sustainable times)

https://twitter.com/AziFarni/status/40732982939488256

[Spidey]

There are allegations Honda is using a dual-clutch design in contravention of the rules:

http://gpone.com/index.php/en/news/35-in-evidenza/2970-honda-rc212v-il-segreto-nella-frizione.html

HRC says it's something new, but not illegal:

http://crash.net/motogp/news/166944/1/hrc_comments_on_dct_rumours.html

[Triple J]

HRC says it's something new, but not illegal:

http://crash.net/motogp/news/166944/1/hrc_comments_on_dct_rumours.html

If Nakamoto doesn't know how it works, then how does he know it isn't DCT? 

[Spidey]

If Nakamoto doesn't know how it works, then how does he know it isn't DCT? 

Shhh!!!  They might be listening.