Posted by pablo on February 8, 2009, 3:41 pm
Granted, the tests are preliminary and it's hard to truly draw
conclusions yet. Up front, not many surprises: Rossi and Stoner, after
all, have been the dominating force in MotoGP. Behind them, though, it
could be that we are seeing a much closer field, and that the new tire
rules are a big equalizer that will tilt the rider-to-motorcycle
winning cocktail more decisively towards the rider. It's good to see
quality veterans like Capirossi and Edwards show the upstarts that
they're not quite ready to live off a pension plan. And great job by
Elias, too, I have always liked his aggressive style and he deserves
to be on more equal material.
With a more equal tire base, and perhaps more judicious investment in
R&D that benefits satellite teams, perhaps 2009 will be a very
entertaining season to follow. Since there are fewer bikes, it would
be great if at least they give each other closer races.
Posted by Henry on February 8, 2009, 10:36 pm
> Granted, the tests are preliminary and it's hard to truly draw
> conclusions yet. Up front, not many surprises: Rossi and Stoner, after
> all, have been the dominating force in MotoGP. Behind them, though, it
> could be that we are seeing a much closer field, and that the new tire
> rules are a big equalizer that will tilt the rider-to-motorcycle
> winning cocktail more decisively towards the rider. It's good to see
> quality veterans like Capirossi and Edwards show the upstarts that
> they're not quite ready to live off a pension plan. And great job by
> Elias, too, I have always liked his aggressive style and he deserves
> to be on more equal material.
> With a more equal tire base, and perhaps more judicious investment in
> R&D that benefits satellite teams, perhaps 2009 will be a very
> entertaining season to follow. Since there are fewer bikes, it would
> be great if at least they give each other closer races.
how about 19" wheels and max size of 110/90 ?
or a 3 speed gearbox
now _that_ would slow them down
:)
I sense turbo's not too far down the track, the major car companies
seem to extract meaner, greener performance out of fewer CC's,
stratospheric fuel injection pressure and variable geometry turbo's
Posted by Julian Bond on February 9, 2009, 1:59 am
>Behind them, though, it
>could be that we are seeing a much closer field
Closer, but smaller, field.
>It's good to see
>quality veterans like Capirossi and Edwards show the upstarts that
>they're not quite ready to live off a pension plan. And great job by
>Elias, too, I have always liked his aggressive style and he deserves
>to be on more equal material.
Elias fastest Honda. New Suzuki actually looks like a normal racing
bike. Gibernau surprisingly fast. Hayden being honest about what a pig
the Ducati is to ride. No Kawasakis. Edwards is always fast on Monday
(and Saturday).
Not long now till the first WSB race...
--
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Certain Limitations Apply
Posted by Champ on February 9, 2009, 7:08 am
On Mon, 9 Feb 2009 06:59:49 +0000, Julian Bond
>Elias fastest Honda.
That's pretty surprising, tho Pedrosa could well have been faster on
day 3.
>New Suzuki actually looks like a normal racing bike.
Looks like it goes fast too - Capirex fast on all 3 days, with
Vermeulen just behind.
>Gibernau surprisingly fast.
Also
- Toseland woefully slow over all three days. Looks like he had a big
crash on the first morning, and was muzzy for the rest of the time..
- Stoner living up to his Tiny Tears reputation. Despite being
fastest, he was whinging about his wrist hurting. Aww, poor Casey.
- Mika Kallio ends up 10th after finding a second each day.
- Lorenzo not as fast as I expected.
But anyway, it looks like 2009 is going to be the Stoner and Rossi
show again.
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk
Posted by Greg Campbell on February 9, 2009, 1:29 pm
Champ wrote:
>> Elias fastest Honda.
Very happy to see that. Glad he and the bike can make the one-size-fits
tires work.
> Also
> - Toseland woefully slow over all three days. Looks like he had a big
> crash on the first morning, and was muzzy for the rest of the time..
Anyone got a video link? I understand it was an awesome Moonshot that
would do Gorgeous Jorge proud.
> - Stoner living up to his Tiny Tears reputation. Despite being
> fastest, he was whinging about his wrist hurting. Aww, poor Casey.
No. If he were whining, he'd have done a Pedrosa and gone home with a
tummy ache. He mentioned that his hand hurts like hell (Apparently,
you've never suffered a hand/foot injury? Be glad you haven't!), and he
mentioned that as the reason he didn't do any long runs. He still went
out and blitzed the field riding the most unruly bike in the paddock.
Not exactly 'whining' in my book.
I bet he's more than a little worried at this point. I hope his hand
isn't permanently screwed up.
> - Mika Kallio ends up 10th after finding a second each day.
> - Lorenzo not as fast as I expected.
Canepa was the surprise underachiever. There was talk of him replacing
Marco last year, but after this test I have to wonder why.
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> conclusions yet. Up front, not many surprises: Rossi and Stoner, after
> all, have been the dominating force in MotoGP. Behind them, though, it
> could be that we are seeing a much closer field, and that the new tire
> rules are a big equalizer that will tilt the rider-to-motorcycle
> winning cocktail more decisively towards the rider. It's good to see
> quality veterans like Capirossi and Edwards show the upstarts that
> they're not quite ready to live off a pension plan. And great job by
> Elias, too, I have always liked his aggressive style and he deserves
> to be on more equal material.
> With a more equal tire base, and perhaps more judicious investment in
> R&D that benefits satellite teams, perhaps 2009 will be a very
> entertaining season to follow. Since there are fewer bikes, it would
> be great if at least they give each other closer races.