MotoGP 2014

[mxs]

I think those new open regulations are paying off for the "factory" Ducatis. Very impressed with the Pramac and Iannone to have stayed in the hunt for so long with the old factory setup.

True, but if they score one more consecutive podium, I believe the rules will take the extra fuel away from them .... not sure what the exact wording on the rule is, unless I got it totally wrong after they played with the rules and designation in the end.

 

[ZX600]

True, but if they score one more consecutive podium, I believe the rules will take the extra fuel away from them .... not sure what the exact wording on the rule is, unless I got it totally wrong after they played with the rules and designation in the end.

Ducati / Suzuki

• ECU Software - Ducati is free to use any software they like. In practice, this means their own ECU software.
• Fuel - Ducati is allowed up to 24 liters of fuel for the race. It is unlikely they will use all 24 liters, 22 or 23 liters is more likely.
• Engines - Ducati may use up to 12 engines for the entire season
• Engine development - Ducati can modify the design of the engine between sealed engines. The rule is the same as the Open entries. This allows Ducati (and Suzuki, in 2015) to develop their engines.
• Testing - Ducati has the same testing privileges as the Open entries. This is to allow them to test their developments with the factory riders, who can push the bike harder than test riders.
• Tire allocation - Ducati will start 2014 with the same tire allocation as the Open entries, the soft and medium specification tires.

If any Ducati rider wins a race in 2014 or 2015, or if they accumulate 2 second places or 3 third places between them, then their fuel allowance will be cut from 24 liters to 22 liters. If they rack up 3 wins between them, then they will also lose the softer tire, and use the same tire allocation as the other Factory Option manufacturers (i.e. medium and hard specifications).

 

[cors]

I just realized that I don't even know the result of the medical evaluation of Crutchlow's injuries after the crash. I used to put him among my "favorite" riders; he used to make me feel like he's pushing hard and has ambition, and I was cheering for him. That started fading towards the end of last season, and now after he moved to Ducati, he hardly gets any of the spotlight---both on MotoGP, and here in the forums and people I speak with. Personally, I grew tired of his whining and whining and whining...alright already, we get it---the bike is not perfect; we knew that even before you changed teams, for god's sake..

 

[Xuryfluous]

I just realized that I don't even know the result of the medical evaluation of Crutchlow's injuries after the crash. I used to put him among my "favorite" riders; he used to make me feel like he's pushing hard and has ambition, and I was cheering for him. That started fading towards the end of last season, and now after he moved to Ducati, he hardly gets any of the spotlight---both on MotoGP, and here in the forums and people I speak with. Personally, I grew tired of his whining and whining and whining...alright already, we get it---the bike is not perfect; we knew that even before you changed teams, for god's sake..

I also really liked Cal, but I agree the fact he was consistently whining nearly every race last season really wore thin pretty quick. It also seemed like he was in it for a paycheque rather than to be competitive. Yes it was a factory ride instead of satalite, but everyone knew it would be a step down for him from the bike he was on. There could be other circumstances of course why he made the switch, but to the average fan it looks like he went from a superior bike making less money to a inferior bike with more money

 

[SweetOnion]

I also really liked Cal, but I agree the fact he was consistently whining nearly every race last season really wore thin pretty quick. It also seemed like he was in it for a paycheque rather than to be competitive. Yes it was a factory ride instead of satalite, but everyone knew it would be a step down for him from the bike he was on. There could be other circumstances of course why he made the switch, but to the average fan it looks like he went from a superior bike making less money to a inferior bike with more money

2 years of his career to make the difference between potentially retiring a Thousandaire, and a Millionaire! I don't blame him... especially since he had zero chance of getting onto another factory ride. Hopefully he gets out before the Ducati kills him and winds up on a good bike in a couple years.

 

[mxs]

Ducati / Suzuki

• ECU Software - Ducati is free to use any software they like. In practice, this means their own ECU software.
• Fuel - Ducati is allowed up to 24 liters of fuel for the race. It is unlikely they will use all 24 liters, 22 or 23 liters is more likely.
• Engines - Ducati may use up to 12 engines for the entire season
• Engine development - Ducati can modify the design of the engine between sealed engines. The rule is the same as the Open entries. This allows Ducati (and Suzuki, in 2015) to develop their engines.
• Testing - Ducati has the same testing privileges as the Open entries. This is to allow them to test their developments with the factory riders, who can push the bike harder than test riders.
• Tire allocation - Ducati will start 2014 with the same tire allocation as the Open entries, the soft and medium specification tires.

If any Ducati rider wins a race in 2014 or 2015, or if they accumulate 2 second places or 3 third places between them, then their fuel allowance will be cut from 24 liters to 22 liters. If they rack up 3 wins between them, then they will also lose the softer tire, and use the same tire allocation as the other Factory Option manufacturers (i.e. medium and hard specifications).

So it is pretty lenient, before they lose any perks .... thanks for posting and clarifying it.

 

[Chaos]

I see nothing wrong with what Cal did. I even think his 'whining' was justified. He was blazing fast on a bike that was close to spec and the beginning of the season. He starts to fade, partly due to the fact that the tech3 bikes does not get the factory updates, so the bike becomes less and less competitive. THEN, he asks for a factory bike next season, and Yamaha says no, because they're bringing in Pol Espargaro. As a matter of fact, I don't think Yamaha or Tech3 were going to sign Crutchlow to even a satellite spec bike. Yamaha brought PE, and Tech3 still had BSmith under contract. And money being what it is, Tech3 was not going to eat BSmith's deal to keep Crutchlow.

For the performance he put up, I don't think Yamaha treated him very fairly.

Now Crutchlow is on a factory bike, likely worse than the tech3, but that seat has the potential to improve. The Tech3 was as good as it was going to get. When you then factor in the money, Crutchlow made the right decision.

 

[WoBblyCaT]

Bridgestone surprised by COTA front tyre issues
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/mcn/s...14-bridgestone-surprised-by-cota-tyre-issues/

Bridgestone has admitted it did not expect to see such major front tyre issues during last Sunday’s Circuit of the Americas MotoGP clash in Texas.

Several riders reported excessive wear on the right side of the medium compound front tyre at COTA, with factory Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi one of the worst hit.

The Italian looked on course for a second successive podium challenge in 2014 when he had to dramatically slow down with a lack of front grip and he eventually finished eighth.

British rookie Scott Redding also had major issues and the Gresini Honda RCV1000R fell out of the points after losing the front in a right-hander in the closing stages of the 21-lap race.

Redding said his tyre suddenly lost performance after seven laps and Bridgestone chief engineer Masao Azuma said the issues had not been anticipated.

Azuma said: “The high abrasion on the right side of the front tyre that some riders experienced during the race was unexpected. There are some sections of the circuit that are quite demanding on the right side of the tyre, but our compound allocation for this race was designed to meet these demands.

"We need to look at all the variables including riding style, machine character and the track condition during the race to work out why we had such high levels of abrasion during the race, and why some riders were affected more than others.

"We can say with confidence that the tyres were not in any way faulty, just that the operating conditions during the race were a lot harsher when compared to last year and the practice sessions earlier in the race weekend.

"As we didn’t see these very high levels of abrasion last year or during practice and qualifying this year, the tyres and race data from the Americas Grand Prix will be analysed at our Technical Centre so that we can find out why this happened.”

So basically Bridgestone says the tires were perfect, it's just that they're weren't meant to be raced on.

 

[Bermuda]

Yeah, that's utter BS. As has been discussed, the tires are different for each track, in fact, built specifically for each track. To come out and say that the tire was not faulty but simply didn't agree with the track and conditions, is to just as well say it was faulty.

Spec tires suck. So much is put into building them around a track specification, but they don't bother to consider the damn BIKE they are going to be installed on. Nonsense.

 

[Roomie]

That's nuts

 

[Xuryfluous]

I see nothing wrong with what Cal did. I even think his 'whining' was justified. He was blazing fast on a bike that was close to spec and the beginning of the season. He starts to fade, partly due to the fact that the tech3 bikes does not get the factory updates, so the bike becomes less and less competitive. THEN, he asks for a factory bike next season, and Yamaha says no, because they're bringing in Pol Espargaro. As a matter of fact, I don't think Yamaha or Tech3 were going to sign Crutchlow to even a satellite spec bike. Yamaha brought PE, and Tech3 still had BSmith under contract. And money being what it is, Tech3 was not going to eat BSmith's deal to keep Crutchlow.

For the performance he put up, I don't think Yamaha treated him very fairly.

Now Crutchlow is on a factory bike, likely worse than the tech3, but that seat has the potential to improve. The Tech3 was as good as it was going to get. When you then factor in the money, Crutchlow made the right decision.

Cal was being pretty critical of Yamaha and the bike well before they signed Pol, and (it's been a long time since then so I may be mistaken) but I think Cal mentioned something that he was in talks with Tech3 for a one year extension but he wouldn't settle for anything less than a factory ride from them, which with Lorenzo and Rossi still signed for another year at the time would have not been possible. Also he knew very well what the capabilities of the bike were, and he had been in MotoGP long enough to know how the satalite teams work in regards to part upgrades. Yeah the bike was the same at the start of the year, but he did get some new hardware over the course of the season, same way it works on any satalite team.

True, Yamaha may not have treated him as well as they could have in the later half of the season; but honestly, if you ran a racing company and had one of your riders constantly whining about your company and how they feel mistreated you probably wouldn't be very happy either. It also looked like Cal just stopped putting in the effort once he signed with Ducati. And even though Rossi is getting up there in age, I would say he is a better rider atleast right now than Cal.

Obviously none of us has all the facts about what went on between Yamaha and Cal, but Cal definitely didn't seem to have a very professional attitude throughout last season

 

[ZX600]

So i just watched the Race onboard camera for Bradle rear camera, pointing exactly at Jorge L. He did rip a strip on his helmet but at no point did he ever make any kind of gesture to indicate mosquitos were bothering him. he got ready to go, Ripped a strip of his shield and took off.

His Nose grows every time he speaks

 

[bakaboy]

Get off your pro-MM podium. Yes we all know that you cheer for him. Watch the video again and cut Lorenzo some slack. Yes he's a whiner. He made a mistake. You can see him go exactly when the lights came on rather than waiting for them to go out.

Not a mistake that you would expect from someone at that level of racing but whatcha going to do.

So i just watched the Race onboard camera for Bradle rear camera, pointing exactly at Jorge L. He did rip a strip on his helmet but at no point did he ever make any kind of gesture to indicate mosquitos were bothering him. he got ready to go, Ripped a strip of his shield and took off.

His Nose grows every time he speaks

 

[Bermuda]

So i just watched the Race onboard camera for Bradle rear camera, pointing exactly at Jorge L. He did rip a strip on his helmet but at no point did he ever make any kind of gesture to indicate mosquitos were bothering him. he got ready to go, Ripped a strip of his shield and took off.

His Nose grows every time he speaks

They could have been on the visor, not actually flying around his head - they had just run the warm-up lap.

 

[ZX600]

Nothing to do about who I cheer for, it has to do with sportsmanship. I really dislike that kind of attitude, just like I dislike Soccer players that spend more time crying and complaining to the referee than actually making plays, I respect a guy like Messi that in most cases gets hit and gets up goes for the play.

Have you guys watched the camera angle I am referring too? watch it and be the judge.

If any rider pulled that crap I would be making the same comment about them, it just happens to be Lorenzo the one always crying just like Stoner used to.

Not sure WTF does MM have to do with my comments?

 

[bakaboy]

I have watched camera angles from my MotoGP subscriptiion.

I have watched the start on the PVR from Fox coverage.

I was at the race and saw the start.

So yep I have watched from different angles.

What "crap" did he pull? And when I listen to him, I hear a man trying to explain his mistake.

As for MM. Geez its ok to have a man crush for him.....

Nothing to do about who I cheer for, it has to do with sportsmanship. I really dislike that kind of attitude, just like I dislike Soccer players that spend more time crying and complaining to the referee than actually making plays, I respect a guy like Messi that in most cases gets hit and gets up goes for the play.

Have you guys watched the camera angle I am referring too? watch it and be the judge.

If any rider pulled that crap I would be making the same comment about them, it just happens to be Lorenzo the one always crying just like Stoner used to.

Not sure WTF does MM have to do with my comments?

 

[Paul1000RR]

I have watched camera angles from my MotoGP subscriptiion.

I have watched the start on the PVR from Fox coverage.

I was at the race and saw the start.

So yep I have watched from different angles.

What "crap" did he pull? And when I listen to him, I hear a man trying to explain his mistake.

As for MM. Geez its ok to have a man crush for him.....

Lorenzo is a cry baby and should be a professional soccer player instead

 

[soto]

Personally I like to hear the factors that a rider feels limited their performance. Saying "I tried my best but it wasn't my day" is boring and unintelligent. It would be bad of either Cal or Lorenzo acted like they always should be winning and gave no credit to their opponents but that's not the case for either of them.

Those soccer players you guys are referring to are trying to essentially bend the rules to win. If anyone is guilty of that it's MM93 at Philip Island - just sayin'

 

[ZX600]

Anywho, since the point of this thread is to discuss the latest motogp situations and not to be converted into another GTAM piss fest, I am going to move on.


How can anyone not have a man crush on this !

 

[Lightcycle]

Personally I like to hear the factors that a rider feels limited their performance. Saying "I tried my best but it wasn't my day" is boring and unintelligent.

I agree. I don't see anywhere where Lorenzo denies it was a brainfart on his part. But even brainfarts sometimes have contributing reasons and to know that it was a change-up in routine (tearoffs at the start line) is interesting to know and also makes him more relateable. I have tons of brainfarts too and sometimes there are contributing reasons to it. I don't see it as whining at all.

I also never had issues with Stoner giving reasons as to why he sometimes underperformed, but I do think he was a world-class c**t for pulling antics like punching DePuniet while riding past him for blocking him during qualifying, as well as mock-clapping Rossi at the side of the track after Rossi took him out earlier. That's the stuff that really turns me off riders.