Fontana SB R2 (spoiler)

 Wow, was I wrong, or what? I thought things would be a little different
today, but Speed could have saved some bucks and just re-broadcast
yesterdays race, I might not have noticed! Mat is looking, for the lack of
better words, in trouble. (I just hope Pab isn't going to welch on our bet
and I'd have taken Nicky this year instead of Sete  ;-)  On another note,
does the guy who unseats Mladin get a real shot at MGP? We'll see...

1. Ben Spies (Suzuki)

2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)

3. Jake Zemke (Honda)

4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)

5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati)

6. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki)

7. Ben Bostrom (Ducati)

8. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)

9. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)

10. Larry Pegram (Honda)

 auscars@gmail.com Sun, 30 Apr 2006 23:18:11

Where is Hodgson losing time? Where is he slower? Why?

There's more to this than just "Hodgson is slow".

--
Julian Bond  E&MSN: julian_bond at voidstar.com  M: +44 (0)77 5907 2173
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Hard to say Julian, I can tell you where he's fast, the straights. The duc's
are consistently fastest, top speed wise..

 
It's hard to say. I can only say that he was right there with Miguel, Ben
and Tommy for both races. And that was just his pace. He certainly wasn't
holding anyone back. Miguel started in mid pack and was making his passes on
the front straight where he was getting just insane drive and working the
draft.

Ben was in front of the pack for sometime too, but eventually it was Miguel,
Neil and Tommy, with Ben dropping way back.

Then at the end, Ben found something because he ran right back, made some
trouble, passed EVERYONE, then faded again.

This track like horspower, but drags everyone to a screeching halt in the
twisting sections. The Suzukis have been simply the dominant machine over
here for a couple of years. Mat certainly helps, and Ben is definately good,
but the machines themselves excel at places like this.

Simply put, I think the machines can't get in to their own and compete up
front on these kinds of tracks. Thankfully, these bowl tracks are the
exceptions, not the rule, and they should hopefully do better on the road
courses.

Regards,

Will Hartung

 
So I'm reading MCN today and they say "Hampered by rules whihc limit
camshaft, gearbox and fuel injection changes, the 999s running in the US
series are a pale shadow of ones used to dominate in WSB and BSB".

So I had a look at the rules and I'm damned if I can see it.

Camshafts. FIM: Camshafts may be altered or replaced from those fitted
to the homologated motorcycle. AMA: Aftermarket camshafts are permitted.
1. Cam lift and the resulting valve lift must be no greater than
stock. This restriction does not apply to twin-cylinder engines.

Carburation: FIM: Carburation instruments must be used un-modified
either as the original homologated carburation instrument or as the
homologated optional carburation instrument. AMA: Two options are
available: a. Stock throttle-body assemblies: ... Approved (homologated)
throttle-body assemblies:

Gearbox: FIM: All transmission/gearbox ratios, shafts, drums, selector
forks are free. Primary gear ratios are free for 1000 cc Twins and 900
cc Three cylinder machines only. AMA: Primary gears can not be changed
or modified. Transmission shafts and gear sets Two options are available
for these components: Stock and one alternate homologated set.

Airbox: Free for twins in both.

I really can't see where the difference is apart from the gearbox.

--
Julian Bond  E&MSN: julian_bond at voidstar.com  M: +44 (0)77 5907 2173
Webmaster:           http://www.ecademy.com/      T: +44 (0)192 0412 433
Personal WebLog:     http://www.voidstar.com/     skype:julian.bond?chat
                     *** Just Say No To DRM ***