MotoGP Germany 2014 *** Spoilers ***

[duccarlos]

I like Cal, but Dovi consistently beat him while in Tech3, and he's still beating him on the Duc. We all like his personality, but he's not an alien.

[thought]

I think Cal would be interesting on Suzuki because it sorta fits his standing.  He's not an alien but he's around factory rider status... Suzuki isnt the top factory but they are a factory ride.  I'd like to see him try it out because I'm pretty sure that Ducati is going to try to push him to move from the factory ride.

And I have a hard time saying that Rossi is out... I cant think of someone else that I would like to see riding that bike on the grid.  I'm also from a younger generation that didnt watch him in his glory days but his results this year speak for themselves to me.  The only person I would think of moving up to that spot is AE and he has been crashing too much to be a contender.

But, in the end... all this is moot because MM is just going to spank them all anyway. haha.  That kid is just ridiculous... and, theoretically, he's just going to get better and faster with some more seasons under his belt.  That just crazy to me.

[Grampa]

until he has one of those crashes that puts the fear of the flying spaghetti monster into him

[lazylightnin717]

Rossi is third in the championship behind the turd. Behind the guy that has never won a world championship.

Just saying 

 

I know he is still a very good rider. But I still can't help but feel like he will never beat MM. So to me, it's two more years of him bringing in money to Yamaha without the real deal results. Kinda like beating a dead horse.

You guys reserve the right to burn me at the stake if proven wrong.

[Speeddog]

If there was no MM, Rossi would be in contention for the Championship.

But, if pigs could fly, skeet shooting would be much more popular.

Rossi is past his sell-by date.
But his marketing value overrides that.
MotoGP is not a meritocracy.

[triangleforge]

I assume it's a rules thing that keeps riders (like Bradl this past weekend) from altering the electronics settings during the race? Plenty of consumer bikes make it easy to toggle between modes that alter the fuel mapping and traction control, and I can see it'd be tremendously useful to a rider to have different maps at his fingertips, especially in a race like this one that was on the cusp between wet & dry.

[thought]

You guys reserve the right to burn me at the stake if proven wrong.

I've got the smiley ready...



But yeah, I'm with speeddog... and all of the other aliens have had a good battle with MM this season and each one has been beaten in that 1v1.  I think it's too hard to factor in MM at this point to the rest of the grid's standings... they only make more sense once he's taken out of them.

until he has one of those crashes that puts the fear of the flying spaghetti monster into him

I actually think he's had a couple of them and he's managed to break a record doing that too haha.  The highest speed crash in MotoGP to date is on his CV too.  And those pics from this weekend of him landing on his head and the angle that helmet took looked horrible.  Not to mention him breaking his leg this year too.

[Triple J]

But, if pigs could fly, skeet shooting would be much more popular.

 

Another thing to consider...GP teams care more about the manufacturer championship than the rider championship. As long as a rider is getting podiums consistenly, they are doing their job. They don't HAVE to win the individual championship, which is why HRC still really likes Pedrosa.

[thought]

I assume it's a rules thing that keeps riders (like Bradl this past weekend) from altering the electronics settings during the race? Plenty of consumer bikes make it easy to toggle between modes that alter the fuel mapping and traction control, and I can see it'd be tremendously useful to a rider to have different maps at his fingertips, especially in a race like this one that was on the cusp between wet & dry.

It wasnt the electronics... it seems that they didnt have time to change to a full dry setup for Bradl on the grid and they left in the wrong springs for the forks.

From this article:

http://motomatters.com/analysis/2014/07/14/2014_sachsenring_sunday_motogp_round_up_.html

" Bradl's crew chief, 'Beefy' Bourguignon told the German publication Speedweek that they had planned to swap front fork springs, rear shock, and front brakes around for the start of the race. Normally, they would need 5:15 minutes to do all the work on the grid. But as the mechanics removed Bradl's rear shock, they dropped a spacer, losing precious time in recovering it. That left them with too little time to swap front fork springs, and with the softer of the front tires. The soft front forks meant that Bradl couldn't brake as hard as he needed to, with a dramatic effect on his lap times."

Feel pretty bad for him... he really needed some more results.

[Triple J]

I assume it's a rules thing that keeps riders (like Bradl this past weekend) from altering the electronics settings during the race? Plenty of consumer bikes make it easy to toggle between modes that alter the fuel mapping and traction control, and I can see it'd be tremendously useful to a rider to have different maps at his fingertips, especially in a race like this one that was on the cusp between wet & dry.

They can change electronic maps on the fly.

What they can't change during a race is suspension settings for dry vs. wet, which can involve quite a bit of work. I thought that was Bradl's problem.

[duccarlos]

Yep, the front forks were too soft. It was quite obvious when he had a huge moment going through the fast left turns. You could also tell because he should be able to open a huge gap between himself and the open bikes.

[triangleforge]

Got it; thanks for clarifying that. And for making my day with the knowledge that there's a guy in the MotoGP pits who goes by the moniker 'Beefy' Bourguignon! 

[derby]

Rossi is third in the championship behind the turd. Behind the guy that has never won a world championship.

Just saying 

 

I know he is still a very good rider. But I still can't help but feel like he will never beat MM. So to me, it's two more years of him bringing in money to Yamaha without the real deal results. Kinda like beating a dead horse.

You guys reserve the right to burn me at the stake if proven wrong.

let me make sure i understand this correctly. rossi is the fastest/most consistent guy in the championship NOT on a honda, and you think he should give up his ride because he's old?

[ducpainter]

let me make sure i understand this correctly. rossi is the fastest/most consistent guy in the championship NOT on a honda, and you think he should give up his ride because he's old?

Good thing I don't have the feeling...

'cuz it'd be crushed.

[lazylightnin717]

Perspective. It's just an opinion.

I've nothing against the elderly. My opinion is that he doesn't have it in him to beat MM.

I'd like to see what Aleix could do on the factory ride.

Like I said earlier, maybe 2016 will be his year.

Maybe I'm wrong about everything. Wouldn't be the first time