Yooperbikemike's 2013 MotoGP Thread

Nicky said he held his braking a little too long and I think you are right with AB. Realized he committed himself to some sort of a mistake and took the more popular option of just removing himself from the race.

This whole thing seems like nothing more than a political move to counter DORNA's heavy handedness with them. Is that the way it is being read?

Certainly Suzuki's performance at the test was quite admirable. That they are 'not ready' seems disingenuous.

From where I sit, DORNA could use the excitement of Suzuki's return for 2014.

So then they should just put you on the 2nd bike? Great approach.

Definitely. But there's a couple more factors to consider:

1. they haven't started porting their software to the spec ECU yet. That's just a small matter of programming, but it has to be thoroughly tested.

2. They need a top rider. Only Crutchlow is available for 2014, but he is still a little reluctant. He'd get big money, but the bike is clearly in need of development. In 2015, everyone is out of contract. More chance of nabbing one of the top 3/4/5.

3. 20 liters of fuel is a huge deal. Being competitive with so little fuel takes an enormous amount of R&D, and thousands of small improvements in lots of different areas. All about combustion efficiency and reducing friction everywhere. The reduction in the fuel allocation is basically pricing everyone except for HRC out of the series.

Thanks.

Good info.

Is the possibility to go with one of the established teams (Aspar) still on the table? Seems like DePuniet and Espargaro would be a good combination for challenging the Ducatis and the Tech 3 Yams.

And since you brought it up... ... what is Cal going to do? I do not see him as a real championship contender/threat...but every time I think that he does something spectacular.

This weekend he didn't crash in QP and break any bones or destroy his #1 bike, qualifies a strong 2nd, but then he goes out in the race and bins it right away...so close and yet...

Mdub: I kinda thought both their crashes were trail braking related..but still not happy they both crashed out. Both guys that were peforming well enough to possible battle for the podium or damn near it.


Krop: What is up with the fuel limitations anyway? It is the premier motorcycle racing series, not the who gets the best gas mileage tree hugger series. :huh

I am always bummed when Nicky crashes out or runs wide or gets pushed off the track somewhere. I know he isn't going to win or even podium, but I am always hoping to see a decent result.

Cal crashing out meant one less podium contender and that is always a let down, especially so early in the race.

Seeing Colin Edwards circulating in the top ten was pretty good though, even if it was a sign of the attrition in the race.

Being silly now: if I were Honda, I would be sending special parts Bautista's way with instructions to ride as close to Rossi as possible at all times.

Obviously they want to be reasonable competitive out of the gate, and development takes time when you have been away from the game. Let's hope they get it right.
Remember that even mighty Honda had their appropriately named "not ready" NR 500 years back!

I think they were set to return until Ezpeleta told them they would have to pay their own way.

IMHO, this is an everyone loses situation.

Maybe the leased Yamaha engines and the customer Hondas will be enough to keep the story line interesting. Maybe DORNA thought the series would be too flush with interest if the excitement of Suzuki returning was added to the mix.

I do understand DORNA was burned by Suzuki before.

Motogp is a mess right now. Honda it seems is in charge of the technical regulations and it's killing the sport. Take that power away from them, make the tech specs more affordable to all and if Honda threatens to leave so be it.

I remember hearing a Podcast where it mentioned King Kenney telling Honda to quit when they threatened to leave years ago. I wish I could find the exact source.. We need someone with Balls to do the same to them again.

"New boss same as the old boss..."

What would stop Yamaha from doing the exact same thing Honda has been accused of? They aren't much different. Same for Suzuki, Kawasaki, Ducati, BMW or anyone else. Very strong manufacturer influence is how the modern era works. Like it or not.

Probably SoupKast by Honda from Dean.
And more than likely Noyes was the speaker.
I really like those podcasts.
http://www.soupkast.com/
I have them on my iPad at home so have to look there sometime.
Good hunting in iTunes.

I don't disagree really but F1 has been dealing with this for years and they banned traction control a few years ago. I know that TA is considered a safety device by some but the level to which it has taken over has gone too far IMHO.

The problem is its do hard to define what traction control is.

Is changing the timing curve for the first bit of the throttle TC?

Is it having a wheel sensor that tell the computer a wheel is spinning?

Is it a speed sensor that changes the timing when the bike is moving slow?

TC is part of the whole engine management system now. It would be easier to introduce a lower spec tire.

Tire changing and re-fueling

Don't forget grooved tires. MotoGP needs that too.

It's pretty undeniable the impact TC has had on rider safety and attrition. They would need to be careful there.
In it's absence, complaints about the lack of competitive manufacturers on the grid could be replaced by the lack of competitive riders on the grid as we revert back the injury lists of 80's & 90's GPs!

They were 2 strokes back then. I don't believe the 4 stroke engines have the same hair trigger. However without TC we may indeed see more get-offs. Just not as many spectacular airborne examples we saw back then.

Another image too huge to post: http://dso6oi9ai0q1l.cloudfront.net...y-Stoner-Crash-Indianapolis-MotoGP-2012-3.jpg

Dennis Noyes ran some statistics on crashing. The rate at which riders crash remains unchanged, between the 500s and the MotoGP bikes. The point of racing is to find the limit. Racers sometimes step over the limit when looking for it.