WSBK 2017 (spoilt)

[MadDuck]

If the rest of the season is like the first two races then we are in for a real treat this year!

Too darn bad that Honda did not improve at all this year. Hayden and Bradl are no slouches so middle and tail end of the pack can only be due to insufficient machinery.

[duccarlos]

If the rest of the season is like the first two races then we are in for a real treat this year!

Too darn bad that Honda did not improve at all this year. Hayden and Bradl are no slouches so middle and tail end of the pack can only be due to insufficient machinery.

It's a completely new blade. You can't expect them to be at the pointy end. Bradl hasn't shown anything since he won Moto2, so I would likely lower my expectations.

[kopfjäger]

[MadDuck]

It's a completely new blade. You can't expect them to be at the pointy end. Bradl hasn't shown anything since he won Moto2, so I would likely lower my expectations.

In Bradl's first three years in the MotoGP open class, riding a Honda, he was always a top ten finisher, usually right in the middle. Not awful by any stretch considering who the top bunch were/are.  He suffered after getting dumped down to Aprilia but I think his talent is sufficient to warrant a higher finish given a halfway decent machine. Honda was promising good stuff this year & I hope they deliver.

[duccarlos]

IMHO, Bradl has had a lot of good luck, maybe not so much the past few years. He won the Moto2 championship, but only after MM got hurt. He went to LCR when the Honda was an excellent package and had some good years, but he is not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination. He is like Dovi, a good teammate.

It took Ducati a few years to get the Panigali competitive. You can't expect Honda to just waltz in with a new bike and win on day one. I would recommend lowering your expectations so if they get their act together towards the end of the year you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[kopfjäger]

[stopintime]

Thai Round FP1

1 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.742 21 174,889 302,5
2 33 M. MELANDRI ITA Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale R 1'33.852 0.110 0.110 22 174,684 302,5
3 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale R 1'33.947 0.205 0.095 22 174,507 304,2
4 12 X. FORÉS ESP BARNI Racing Team Ducati Panigale R 1'34.319 0.577 0.372 21 173,819 296,7
5 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'34.329 0.587 0.010 19 173,800 299,2
6 22 A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 1'34.363 0.621 0.034 19 173,738 296,7
7 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 1'34.530 0.788 0.167 20 173,431 295,9
8 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR 1'34.710 0.968 0.180 27 173,101 300,8
9 21 M. REITERBERGER GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR 1'34.864 1.122 0.154 23 172,820 300,0
10 69 N. HAYDEN USA Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.969 1.227 0.105 19 172,629 293,5
11 32 L. SAVADORI ITA Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF 1'34.991 1.249 0.022 22 172,589 300,0
12 50 E. LAVERTY IRL Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF 1'35.037 1.295 0.046 21 172,505 300,8
13 88 R. KRUMMENACHER SUI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.071 1.329 0.034 20 172,444 296,7
14 6 S. BRADL GER Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.524 1.782 0.453 22 171,626 297,5
15 40 R. RAMOS ESP Team Kawasaki Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.542 1.800 0.018 23 171,594 295,9
16 84 R. RUSSO ITA Guandalini Racing Yamaha YZF R1 1'35.606 1.864 0.064 21 171,479 286,5
17 15 A. DE ANGELIS RSM Pedercini Racing SC-Project Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'36.688 2.946 1.082 22 169,560 291,9
18 37 O. JEZEK CZE Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'36.823 3.081 0.135 22 169,323 289,5
19 86 A. BADOVINI ITA Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'37.052 3.310 0.229 18 168,924 289,5

[stopintime]

Thai Round FP2

1 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.573 24 175,204 305,9
2 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'33.783 0.210 0.210 18 174,812 302,5
3 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale R 1'33.895 0.322 0.112 23 174,604 303,4
4 33 M. MELANDRI ITA Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale R 1'33.996 0.423 0.101 21 174,416 304,2
5 22 A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 1'34.016 0.443 0.020 26 174,379 296,7
6 12 X. FORÉS ESP BARNI Racing Team Ducati Panigale R 1'34.174 0.601 0.158 19 174,086 296,7
7 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR 1'34.245 0.672 0.071 26 173,955 301,7
8 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 1'34.291 0.718 0.046 27 173,870 300,8
9 21 M. REITERBERGER GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR 1'34.410 0.837 0.119 20 173,651 302,5
10 50 E. LAVERTY IRL Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF 1'34.518 0.945 0.108 19 173,453 303,4
11 32 L. SAVADORI ITA Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF 1'34.554 0.981 0.036 21 173,387 298,3
12 6 S. BRADL GER Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.691 1.118 0.137 23 173,136 300,8
13 69 N. HAYDEN USA Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.949 1.376 0.258 21 172,665 299,2
14 2 L. CAMIER GBR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta 1000 F4 1'34.953 1.380 0.004 15 172,658 294,3
15 88 R. KRUMMENACHER SUI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.147 1.574 0.194 19 172,306 292,7
16 84 R. RUSSO ITA Guandalini Racing Yamaha YZF R1 1'35.465 1.892 0.318 18 171,732 289,5
17 15 A. DE ANGELIS RSM Pedercini Racing SC-Project Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'35.817 2.244 0.352 18 171,101 293,5
18 40 R. RAMOS ESP Team Kawasaki Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'36.198 2.625 0.381 19 170,424 294,3
19 86 A. BADOVINI ITA Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'36.249 2.676 0.051 17 170,333 295,1
20 37 O. JEZEK CZE Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'36.568 2.995 0.319 20 169,771 290,3

[stopintime]

ARAGON

It was entertainingly tight (guess which bikes and riders) and I started typing about good racing until the flag in Race 1.....

Not cool being a non-Duc/Kwak, but at least it was close racing 

[duccarlos]

It seems it's a 2 horse race, but it's an improvement over last year

[ducpainter]

Rae is a machine.

[duccarlos]

Race 1:
Pos
Grid No. Rider Nat Team Bike LL Gap Fastest Lap Speed Speed R1 R2 Tot Pos
Ranking
Race Time
Qualifying
1 9 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 1'50.597 318,6 1'49.350 314,9 25 125 1
2 8 33 M. MELANDRI ITA Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale R 18 4.058 1'50.737 317,6 1'49.973 320,5 20 65 4
3 7 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 7.512 1'50.885 315,8 1'49.492 314,0 16 78 2
4 1 22 A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 18 9.962 1'51.153 311,2 13 62 5
5 2 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 18 12.302 1'51.291 313,0 1'50.422 312,1 11 38 7
6 3 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR 18 18.995 1'51.692 318,6 1'50.397 314,9 10 39 6
7 4 36 L. MERCADO ARG IODARacing Aprilia RSV4 RF 18 21.545 1'51.670 316,7 1'50.514 317,6 9 9 18
8 5 50 E. LAVERTY IRL Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF 18 27.309 1'51.582 319,5 1'50.647 319,5 8 23 11
9 6 6 S. BRADL GER Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR 18 27.488 1'51.583 313,0 1'51.257 309,5 7 15 13
10 12 69 N. HAYDEN USA Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR 18 27.663 1'51.649 310,3 1'50.761 307,7 6 27 10
11 15 2 L. CAMIER GBR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta 1000 F4 18 35.409 1'52.252 308,6 1'51.569 303,4 5 32 9
12 13 21 M. REITERBERGER GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR 18 41.558 1'52.447 312,1 1'51.506 315,8 4 19 12
13 17 3 J. SIMON ESP Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF 18 44.006 1'52.778 314,9 1'52.334 311,2 3 3 21
14 16 88 R. KRUMMENACHER SUI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 44.482 1'52.986 309,5 1'52.328 309,5 2 12 16
15 18 15 A. DE ANGELIS RSM Pedercini Racing SC-Project Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 45.915 1'53.118 311,2 1'52.590 306,8 1 13 15
16 19 84 R. RUSSO ITA Guandalini Racing Yamaha YZF R1 18 1'23.533 1'53.474 300,0 1'52.829 300,8 4 19
--------------------------------------------------Not Classified--------------------------------------------------
RET 10 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale R 16 2 Laps 1'50.740 315,8 1'49.319 315,8 70 3
RET 11 12 X. FORÉS ESP BARNI Racing Team Ducati Panigale R 14 4 Laps 1'51.002 312,1 1'50.347 310,3 34 8
RET 14 40 R. RAMOS ESP Team Kawasaki Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 4 14 Laps 1'51.807 308,6 1'51.557 302,5 13 14
RET 20 86 A. BADOVINI ITA Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 0 1'53.375 300,0 2 23

[duccarlos]

Race 2:
Pos
Grid No. Rider Nat Team Bike LL Gap Fastest Lap Speed Speed R1 R2 Tot Pos
Ranking
Race Time
Qualifying
1 1 7 C. DAVIES GBR Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale R 18 1'50.954 320,5 1'49.319 315,8 25 95 2
2 2 1 J. REA GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 0.483 1'50.980 320,5 1'49.350 314,9 25 20 145 1
3 4 33 M. MELANDRI ITA Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Ducati Panigale R 18 2.479 1'51.085 325,3 1'49.973 320,5 20 16 81 4
4 3 66 T. SYKES GBR Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 10.562 1'51.538 317,6 1'49.492 314,0 16 13 91 3
5 7 60 M. VAN DER MARK NED Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 18 13.336 1'51.360 318,6 1'50.422 312,1 11 11 49 6
6 5 12 X. FORÉS ESP BARNI Racing Team Ducati Panigale R 18 16.951 1'51.916 317,6 1'50.347 310,3 10 44 8
7 6 81 J. TORRES ESP Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR 18 18.638 1'51.831 321,4 1'50.397 314,9 10 9 48 7
8 8 36 L. MERCADO ARG IODARacing Aprilia RSV4 RF 18 18.700 1'51.533 320,5 1'50.514 317,6 9 8 17 15
9 9 50 E. LAVERTY IRL Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF 18 21.290 1'51.870 321,4 1'50.647 319,5 8 7 30 10
10 15 2 L. CAMIER GBR MV Agusta Reparto Corse MV Agusta 1000 F4 18 22.246 1'52.219 312,1 1'51.569 303,4 5 6 38 9
11 14 40 R. RAMOS ESP Team Kawasaki Go Eleven Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 24.307 1'52.267 314,9 1'51.557 302,5 5 18 14
12 11 6 S. BRADL GER Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR 18 25.829 1'51.951 319,5 1'51.257 309,5 7 4 19 12
13 12 22 A. LOWES GBR Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Yamaha YZF R1 18 26.611 1'51.304 318,6 13 3 65 5
14 16 88 R. KRUMMENACHER SUI Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 40.575 1'52.913 314,0 1'52.328 309,5 2 2 14 16
15 17 3 J. SIMON ESP Milwaukee Aprilia Aprilia RSV4 RF 18 40.769 1'52.711 318,6 1'52.334 311,2 3 1 4 21
16 13 21 M. REITERBERGER GER Althea BMW Racing Team BMW S 1000 RR 18 40.915 1'52.544 318,6 1'51.506 315,8 4 19 13
17 21 86 A. BADOVINI ITA Grillini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX-10R 18 1'00.980 1'53.591 304,2 1'53.375 300,0 2 23
--------------------------------------------------Not Classified--------------------------------------------------
RET 18 15 A. DE ANGELIS RSM Pedercini Racing SC-Project Kawasaki ZX-10R 13 5 Laps 1'52.571 315,8 1'52.590 306,8 1 13 17
RET 19 84 R. RUSSO ITA Guandalini Racing Yamaha YZF R1 12 6 Laps 1'53.691 308,6 1'52.829 300,8 4 19
RET 10 69 N. HAYDEN USA Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team Honda CBR1000RR 11 7 Laps 1'52.114 314,9 1'50.761 307,7 6 27 11

[duccarlos]

For those that were not following, Chaz crashed out of race 1 on Saturday and won race 2 on Sunday. Melandri is looking great on the Duc just 10 points behind Sykes. But as DP posted above, Rea is a make the beast with two backsing machine. Are GP factory teams so focused on the kids that are coming through Moto2 and 3 that they've completely ignored Rea?

[ducpainter]

For those that were not following, Chaz crashed out of race 1 on Saturday and won race 2 on Sunday. Melandri is looking great on the Duc just 10 points behind Sykes. But as DP posted above, Rea is a make the beast with two backsing machine. Are GP factory teams so focused on the kids that are coming through Moto2 and 3 that they've completely ignored Rea?

Yes.

That's why Johnny is on a Kwak.

Honda make the beast with two backsed him over by not giving him a GP ride after he did a couple of wild card rides, and performed admirably I'd say. In SBK on the Tenkate bike, which was a dog (and still is), he still won races.

I doubt he'd ever consider a Honda again.