MotoGP 2012 - Round 1 - Qatar (SPOILERS, race: 4/8)

[ducpainter]

only thing is.. and it may not matter for the mighty HRC, but the repsol bikes really haven't done a lot of laps yet.  there's something going on there.

and i expect a lot more outta the ben this year.

probably...

I've heard that before.  If he figures out the first two laps he'll be right there fighting for the podium most days.

We shall see.

[duccarlos]

Did I read that article right? Did Aprilia go through 28 motors last year?

[gm2]

Did I read that article right? Did Aprilia go through 28 motors last year?

yup.  2 more than 1 per rider, per race.

[duccarlos]

Is this "normal" in WSBK?

[ducpainter]

Is this "normal" in WSBK?

Who cares?

This is a motogp thread.

[Jester]

Stoner and Lorenzo get tangled up halfway through the first lap and both die in a fireball, opening the door for Spies' first championship.  Pedrosa decides that speedboat racing is more his cup of tea and retires from MotoGP after his collarbone gets broken for the 35th time, being torpedoed by Rossi, who takes way too many risks.  Crutchlow comes in second after running Dovi off the course in the last corner and Hayden picks up the pieces for third.  DePuniet wraps up fourth position, and Aprilia is subsequently found to be running a complete prototype machine and no longer qualifies for CRT status.

Who wants a piece of this action?  

[El Matador]

only thing is.. and it may not matter for the mighty HRC, but the repsol bikes really haven't done a lot of laps yet.  there's something going on there.

and i expect a lot more outta the ben this year.

I expect a lot more dissapoontment for you this year. Last year really showed where Spies's talent level lay. He's the new Edwards.  I don't mean that in a bad way, just realistically.

[Jester]

I expect a lot more dissapoontment for you this year. Last year really showed where Spies's talent level lay. He's the new Edwards.  I don't mean that in a bad way, just realistically.

I wouldn't knock on him that hard.  Spies is capable of winning a few races, whereas Edwards never quite reached that plateau.  His only real shot at a win was thrown away.  We'll see how he does when the tires get shagged.  I see some late race charges from that man.

[gm2]

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/video-motogp-schwantz-on-wind-tunnel

[Spidey]

Just makin' shit up here, but . . .

1)  Stoner
2)  Lorenzo
3)  Pedrosa
4)  Spies?
5)  Crutchlow
6)  Dovi
7)  Rossi
 a Honda
9)  Hayden
10)  DePuniet
38)  CE

I like The Ben and really, really, really hope I'm wrong, but I'm mostly in El Matador's Jester's camp.  The difference is that Spies can win a race on a rare occasion and be a reliable podium threat.  Colin never really could.  I don't see the late race charge thing being a factor.  He's always done that--even recently--but it doesn't make up for the first third of the race.

[gm2]

38)  CE

...all i said was that i expect more out of ben.  not that it's gonna happen.

to be fair, the 800 never suited him.  he had to remake his riding style in order to be there abouts on it.  still his stats from 2010/2011 say he's a lot more than CE2-2.

BUT.. he for sure has not been his 2009 or Laguna-2007 self in GP.  the new bike makes that more possible.  he's fast as make the beast with two backs and can battle.. we just haven't seen it lately.  maybe we will, maybe he'll be fighting for third all year.


like PI, i still assume casey will win this race tho.

[zarn02]

Stoner and Lorenzo get tangled up halfway through the first lap and both die in a fireball, opening the door for Spies' first championship.  Pedrosa decides that speedboat racing is more his cup of tea and retires from MotoGP after his collarbone gets broken for the 35th time, being torpedoed by Rossi, who takes way too many risks.  Crutchlow comes in second after running Dovi off the course in the last corner and Hayden picks up the pieces for third.  DePuniet wraps up fourth position, and Aprilia is subsequently found to be running a complete prototype machine and no longer qualifies for CRT status.

Who wants a piece of this action?  

And the second coming will be the highlight of the post-season.

[Spidey]

to be fair, the 800 never suited him.  he had to remake his riding style in order to be there abouts on it. 

I don't think the 1000 is going to be much different.  He still can't ride it like a superbike, and with the electronics and fuel limit, it is going to require largely the the same precision--both in terms of riding and set-up--as the 800s.  And an even bigger issue for Ben's riding style is the Bridgestones.  

Frankly, I dunno how Casey does it.  I think of him a ride-it-loose type of rider, ala Hayden and Spies.  But he gets through corners faster than the Spanish 250 cornerspeed demons.  I don't get it.  

[Triple J]

...all i said was that i expect more out of ben.  not that it's gonna happen.

Hopefully the softer Bridgestones help with his starts. That seems to be his main problem. I think he can battle with the Aliens if he can just stay with them for the 1st 2-3 laps.

[gm2]

I don't think the 1000 is going to be much different.  He still can't ride it like a superbike, and with the electronics and fuel limit, it is going to require largely the the same precision--both in terms of riding and set-up--as the 800s.  And an even bigger issue for Ben's riding style is the Bridgestones. 

yeah, i agree.  "different" is a tenth or two.. but that makes a big difference at this level.

and

Hopefully the softer Bridgestones help with his starts. That seems to be his main problem. I think he can battle with the Aliens if he can just stay with them for the 1st 2-3 laps.

^ that.

hopefully they really are better in the first few laps.  ben in particular has no problem with shagged tires at the end of a race.  if there's a couple tenths in both those factors, then...