MotoGP 2013 pre-season useless thread

[squeezer]

Spies speaks: http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/01/02/ben-spies-leaves-yamaha-for-ducati/

Good article. Thanks.  

[motodog650]

Good article. Thanks.  

Surely !!

Spies said: "A senior Yamaha employee—that’s as specific as I’m going to get—said to me, “We’ve invested a lot of money in you. Don’t come to Laguna Seca if you aren’t 100 percent.”
Then, he added, “We’ve lost confidence in you.”"

Insert: Lin Jarvis...

[nater]

Surely !!

Spies said: "A senior Yamaha employee—that’s as specific as I’m going to get—said to me, “We’ve invested a lot of money in you. Don’t come to Laguna Seca if you aren’t 100 percent.”
Then, he added, “We’ve lost confidence in you.”"

Insert: Lin Jarvis...

Some people will never figure out that if you tell someone that they can't do it, the prediction will likely be self-fulfilling.  It destroys what little self-confidance is left.  

[st2sam]

Good article. Thanks.  

+2
This read really got me thinking, but no matter how hard I think, not sure if Ben is gonna be competitive?  
Will he ride equal too or better than Rossi did this past season???
Anyhow, I'm happy he's staying in MGP and happier yet he's going to Ducati. It's something for me to get excited about, I can look ahead to the 2013 MGP season!  

[Scoop]

good article indeed.  I see now what happened to Ben.  He started thinking...and trying.  "Trying to ride like Jorge" was  his undoing (along with everything breaking).  His riding style did him well for all these years.  Suddenly thinking it's not good enough and trying to analyze what he was doing and try to change his whole style was bound to lead to horrible failure.  

[black hills]

I think the GP bikes are a whole different animal and not every riding style will work on them.

[R Doug]

I think the GP bikes are a whole different animal and not every riding style will work on them.

Agreed. I have read countless stories of where riders had to adapt their riding style to accommodate a GP bike.

I have said it before, take off the quarter million $ plus computer aids on a gp bike and we will see more neutral body positions (the type Elbowz perfected) and better competition in this class.

[black hills]

Agreed. I have read countless stories of where riders had to adapt their riding style to accommodate a GP bike.

I have said it before, take off the quarter million $ plus computer aids on a gp bike and we will see more neutral body positions (the type Elbowz perfected) and better competition in this class.

   they are becoming so perfected that there is only one way to ride them

[squeezer]

Brno has been dropped from the WSBK calendar. :-[

[R Doug]

   they are becoming so perfected that there is only one way to ride them

Yep... flog the turd out of them in the corners and *trust* the electronics to sort it all out.  This is why we see such extreme body commitment with the guys hanging way off.  

Watch Moto2.  Those cats stay neutral and don't committ their bodies to the inside as much because they need to use their skill to keep the bike upright.  

[mellow_gold]

Good article!  Seems like he's talking out of school quite a lot though...entertaining for us but maybe not the wisest decision career wise.

[Capirex]

Brno has been dropped from the WSBK calendar. :-[

I also see that Miller and Misano have been dropped but Laguna Seca and the Tilke cutter Buddh added.  Hmmm.

[st2sam]

The June 23rd date location is TBA..  Miller maybe?

[DogBoy]

Miller is off the schedule. Attendance was too low.

[Scoop]

Also, there's as much chance of snow at Miller in May as there is of warm temps

[DogBoy]

Testing at Sepang for CRT over the weekend. Full MotoGP field starts testing tomorrow.

[DogBoy]

New Kid.

[Capirex]

Sepang Tuesday Test Times:

1.    Dani   Pedrosa ESP   Repsol Honda (RC213V)    2m   1.157s    (Lap 48/49)
2.    Jorge   Lorenzo ESP   Yamaha Factory (YZR-M1)    2m   1.165s    (57/58)
3.    Marc   Marquez ESP   Repsol Honda (RC213V)    2m   1.201s    (60/62)
4.    Valentino   Rossi ITA   Yamaha Factory (YZR-M1)    2m   1.584s    (30/56)
5.    Stefan   Bradl GER   LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V)    2m   1.789s    (43/59)
6.    Cal   Crutchlow GBR   Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)    2m   1.881s    (46/64)
7.    Alvaro   Bautista ESP   Honda Gresini (RC213V)    2m   1.981s    (52/59)
8.    Katsayuki   Nakasuga JPN   Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)    2m   2.968s    (50/58)
9.    Kosuke   Akiyoshi JPN   Honda Test Rider (RC213V)    2m   2.972s    (46/69)
10.    Nicky   Hayden USA   Ducati Team (GP13)    2m   3.336s    (22/62)
11.    Wataru   Yoshikawa JPN   Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)    2m   3.456s    (14/46)
12.    Bradley   Smith GBR   Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)    2m   3.460s    (53/56)
13.    Andrea   Dovizioso ITA   Ducati Team (GP13)    2m   3.535s    (35/48)
14.    Aleix   Espargaro ESP   Aspar (ART CRT)    2m   3.782s    (54/58)
15.    Randy   De Puniet    FRA   Aspar (ART CRT)    2m   4.283s    (42/56)
16.    Andrea   Iannone ITA   Pramac Racing (GP13)    2m   4.500s    (53/57)
17.    Ben   Spies USA   Pramac Racing (GP13)    2m   5.086s    (19/21)
18.    Takumi   Takahashi JPN   Honda Test Rider (RC213V)    2m   5.154s    (68/70)
19.    Hector   Barbera ESP   Avintia (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)*    2m   5.469s    (37/41)
20.    Yonny   Hernandez COL   Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT)    2m   5.656s    (39/50)
21.    Karel   Abraham CZE   Cardion AB (ART CRT)    2m   5.694s    (30/54)
22.    Danilo   Petrucci ITA   IodaRacing (Suter-BMW CRT)*    2m   5.753s    (27/29)
23.    Hiroshi   Aoyama JPN   Avintia (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)*    2m   5.919s    (47/48)
24.    Claudio   Corti ITA   Forward (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)*    2m   6.426s    (29/38)
25.    Michael   Laverty GBR   Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT)    2m   6.507s    (42/43)
26.    Lukas   Pesek CZE   IodaRacing (Suter-BMW CRT)*    2m   7.015s    (40/46)
27.    Bryan   Staring AUS   Honda Gresini (FTR-Honda CRT)*    2m   7.044s    (33/41)
28.    Colin   Edwards USA   Forward (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)*    2m   8.206s    (24/25)
* Control ECU.

Official Sepang MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha 2m 0.334s (2012)
Fastest race lap:
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati 2m 2.108s (2007)

Fastest lap in 2012 pre-season testing:
Casey Stoner AUS Honda 1m 59.607s (February 2)

Fastest lap in private Honda Sepang test:
Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda 2m 1.355s (November 27)

Fastest lap in CRT 'ECU test':
Danilo Petrucci ITA IodaRacing (Suter-BMW CRT) 2m 6.841s (February 3)

[black hills]

it appears Rossi is happy to be back on the M1

[loadedmind]

I've always been a Spies fan - maybe not as hardcore as others, but I've followed his career with great anticipation.  

Unless Ducati does something drastically different with their bikes this year, I honestly don't know what he was thinking going to this platform.  He has everything to lose and everything to gain, so it will definitely be interesting to see if he can fare any better than Nicky.  I mean, if Rossi couldn't consistently place any podium finishes on the Duc, what chance does Spies really have?  I suppose the real question is, is Spies in the same caliber of riders as the likes of Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Rossi?

Oh, and to the person asking what I meant, don't read into it.   I simply pointed out that Pedrosa CAN do wrong.