300th vistor!!!

thanks to everyone that have stopped by my blog.

there hasn’t been much going on in the way of racing as both wsbk and motogp have been on breaks. but motogp resumes this weekend at jerez and wsbk the following weekend in valencia (the spanish are lucky).

posts in the oven:

• jerez report
• daytona report
• results of the 848 v 750 v 675 v 600 shootout

rare, unseen gregorio lavilla interview footage

it’s amazing what u find on rideontwo.com’s forums these days. at the moment, there’s fervent rumormongering, dare i say gossip, on nicky hayden’s fate at honda hrc being dished here and here. this lull in action is driving the forum mad! 

forum newcomer rodlynnracing posted a video (above) of a candid interview (with a slight twist) with gregorio lavilla (airwaves ducati, currently paul young honda) after winning the 2005 british superbike championship. if ur a fan of motorcycle racing, u’ll, as the japanese say, “www” (translation).

creature comforts ftw! 

shift change – gp of qatar

two weeks ago, motogp made history by running under the floodlights of losail international circuit.

at first, i thought that it was an cheap (?!?!) gimmick but i’m sold after watching the race. the lights added a whole new dimension that i didn’t expect.

the weekend was a complete success with only one minor quibble – the cool track temperature. several teams expressed their concern about this issue asking for the race to be run later in the year (originally qatar was run in sept). qatar officials would like to retain the opening race slot which will likely delay the start of the season to april and we wouldn’t have a month long break to the second race.

qatar was run at night for several reasons, one of them being the sweltering heat during midday. however, temperatures plummeted once the sun set. in fact, it was actually too cold. the tarmac cooled to a frigid 13 deg c (55 deg f) whereas typical summer day track temps are around 35-40 deg c (95-104 deg f). 

i’d rather see the qatar race return to its sept date and the season kick off with jerez or another european round. the atmosphere at qatar is subdued and fan unfriendly. it seems very sterile since the only grandstand is on the main straight and the track is located in the middle of the desert. unless u’re an emirate prince u have no place being there.

maybe the qatar round should just be removed from the calendar altogether. but it looks like we’ll have to wait until 2016 for that to happen. by then their oil reserves will have run out…

motorcycle racing returns to indy

motorcycle racing will at long last return to the hollowed grounds of the indianapolis speedway this sept. it will mark the first two-wheeled event at the facility since its first month of operation in august 1909.

the 2008 motogp season is shaping up to be a historic year. first, under the lights in qatar and later on in the year running at the “brickyard.”

american nicky hayden (repsol honda) will christen the event by riding a restored indian motorcycle, which competed in the first motorized race at ims on aug 14, 1909. afterwards, he’ll be hopping on a slightly more modern cbr1000rr to do some serious laps and check out the new 16-turn layout.

i’ll be attending this event riding the 675 down this sept. let me know if u’re going!

it should be an exciting event rivaling the f1 races held over the last couple years. too bad we won’t see the bikes charging the banking as turns 1 and 5 bypass these parts of the famed oval :(

[setup] tire tech

i don’t claim to be a suspension guru or tire expert so take the following post with a grain of salt. hopefully, my logic is sound but feel free to leave a comment if something doesn’t add up. 

the 675’s dragon supercorsa pros reached the end of their life last season (see above photo) so i’ve been doing some research on new tires over the last couple of days. the dcp’s were great unexpectedly lasting 6k miles with 2 trackdays on them. i’d highly recommend them except they’re way too expensive (~$450/set).

choosing tires is often a difficult and arduous task. it’s a highly subjective matter that only you can judge. a particular tire may feel good for u but not for another person. in other words, it’s trial and error. 

superbike (uk journo) conducted a in-depth test of the popular high performance tires on the market. they ranked the pirelli diablo corsa 3 and dunlop gp racer (qualifier in the states) as the top track tires based on lap times and feel.

tires are pretty important since the they are only part of the bike that directly interfaces with the tarmac. profile and rubber compound are the key elements in the tire’s feel. sport rider has a good basic write-up on tire construction and how it affects handling (it’s a little old but still applicable today).

one thing to remember if u increase the rear tire size, it may increase steering head angle affecting turn-in and straight-line stability. raising the front forks will compensate for the larger rear tire thus altering swingarm angle which basically turns things into a cluster fuck. basically, if u don’t know how it will affect ur bike stick with the the stock size and u’ll avoid a headache.

new tires will be shod in the spring once things warm up. i’ll let u know what i went with and how they feel.

will ducs cross the pond in 2009?

the ama superbike paddock has been an all japanese affair over the last couple of years. at the end of the 2006 season, ducati na decided that they wouldn’t be returning the following year saying “[their] primary objective… has been acheived”. coincidentally, the italian marque released their new from the ground up 1099cc v-twin superbike, the 1098, in 2007 which didn’t meet ama sbk engine specs. they said they’d be back in 2008 but alas there are red rockets on the grid.

in 2009, the ama rules will allow ducati to race it’s 1200cc powerplant but it will need to be more stock than what is currently raced in world sbk (ie oem or homologated cranks, rods, pistons, and transmission). these rules don’t just apply to ducati. other manufacturers will have to adhere to the new regulations as well. basically, they want the bikes to closer resemble what’s in the showroom.

one area that has been completely left open is electronics, aka traction control, a discipline that ducati excels at. in fact, they’re the first company to implement real traction control on a production bike (dtc) with the 1098r. 

in previous years, ama sbk followed the same rules as world sbk (with exception to engine capacity). with the 2009 rules, however, the ama and wsbk will be very different. basically, manufacturers will have to build two different spec bikes – one bound for america and the other to europe.

the ama rule changes are meant to both slow the bikes as well as bring costs down. but at what price?the japanese manufacturers with their gargantuan racing budgets won’t have a problem developing two different bikes. can a small company like ducati (or even aprilia) do this? can ducati afford to snub one of its largest markets?

if the new regs are approved, next season should be very interesting. the playing field will be evened and hopefully we’ll see an end to the suzuki dominance and a return of the bologna bullet.

[UPDATE] i stand corrected. the 2008 ama rules already allow wsbk-spec 1200cc twins. in fact, i was informed that boulder motorsports is running a 1098r this year.

motoczysz c1 documentary to air march 25th

the motoczysz c1 is by no means breaking news. however, the discovery channel finally released the date that the documentary on this revolutionary motorcycle is going to air. it will premiere on the discovery hd channel monday march 25th at 8pm est/pst (kind of ironic that the us is the last country to air it). viewers set ur tivo’s!!!

for a basic overview of the bike, click here. 

read

[UPDATE][rumor] bmw’s teutonic terror

spanish moto rag, motociclismo, commissioned the above rendering of bmw’s upcoming entry into the superbike class based on insider information. a prototype of this bike was reportedly lapping the circuit de cartagena in r6 bodywork.

one thing is for sure: if bmw’s superbike is running around in r6 clothing it is extremely petite. also expect the final styling to be reminiscent of the hp2 sport (see below).   

however, power is rumored to come from a rather orthodox 1000cc inline-4 rated at around 200hp. in fact, the other key components seem to be very un-bmw-like too – chain drivetrain, inverted fork, dual-beam aluminum chassis. if u can’t beat ‘em join ‘em.

we should probably see the release at the paris motorcycle show in late sept along with the aprilia rsv 4. 

bmw will make their world superbike debut in 2009. alles gute!

read 

[UPDATE] here’s a photo of the proto in the flesh:

 

meh – motogp qatar wrapup

title says it all. i’m thoroughly unimpressed with the first round on the motogp calendar. probably not what u really wanted to hear but as the spanish say, “es la verdad.” 

the historic race (first gp event ever held under lights) started out great but then fizzled out at the end much like last year’s races. maybe there was too much hype…

imo, qualifying was the highlight of the weekend. unbelievably, the yamaha-michelin trifecta trumped the world champ casey stoner (marlboro ducati) by snatching up the WHOLE front row. pole went to rookie jorge lorenzo (fiat yamaha) followed by another rookie james toseland (tech 3 yamaha) and vet colin edwards (tech 3 yamaha). toseland smartly set the marker early in the qualifying as the track temp was warmer at the beginning of the session. stoner’s last attempt at pole was hampered by a slowing toni elias (alice ducati). stoner was 4th quickest. valentino rossi (fiat yamaha) headed up the 3rd row. from the looks of things, rossi’s gamble with bridgestone did not pay off. he hasn’t topped timesheets since his win at estoril 6 months ago. since then, rossi has riding pillion.

the 22 lap race was a bit lackluster in the entertainment dept. however, several interesting stories unraveled during the race.

like last year, casey stoner ran away with the win, 5.3 sec ahead of lorenzo (we’ll get to this later). the stoner-ducati-bridgestone package set the standard that night and probably for the rest of the season. he bided his time sitting in 4th position for 7 laps dicing it up with lorenzo. as the top 4 positions barreled down the front straight to complete the 7th lap, the ducati out-muscled everyone and snatched the lead going into turn 1 with lorenzo close behind. once in clean air, stoner put the hammer down and set consistent fastest laps and walked away from the field.

this, however, wasn’t the case for everyone on a ducati. stoner’s teammate marco melandri (marlboro ducati) and both alice ducatis struggled throughout the race. melandri was the 2nd ducati across the line in 11th 44.3 sec behind his teammate. i wouldn’t consider the italian a slouch by any means, either. he’s been on the podium 19 times and won the 250 championship. furthermore, toni elias and sylvain guintoli finished further behind claiming the last 2 point scoring places, respectively. this suggests that the gp8 is a beast unlike any other in the paddock with only stoner able to tame it. top speeds of all 4 ducatis are around 324kph (4kph faster than the rest of the field) so it’s not a question of engine spec. that leaves suspension set up and rider skill. julian ryder said that he had a chance to look at the data sheets for the ducati riders and that they were all relatively equal except for stoner carrying much highers speeds on corner entry (thanks, j4rno-ro2).

i think michelin has rebounded from its dismal 2007 season. first, they occupy the entire front row of the grid and, second, they took 7 out of the top 10 positions. i really think that if rossi would’ve stuck with michelin he would have been battling at least his teammate for second instead of floundering in 5th. in fact, james toseland on the inferior spring-valve yamaha was ready to pounce on rossi on the last lap. michelin is back and they’re furieux!

speaking of pissed, dani pedrosa (repsol honda) rode like rambo after he learned that murdock double-crossed him (watch this, u’ll know what i mean then).

pedrosa, fighting a severe wrist injury, got the holeshot (8th to 1st by turn 1) and lead the race for 4 laps. rossi clawed the the position away and the two were duking it out for several laps even after stoner and lorenzo passed them. it looked like pedrosa was being held back by rossi and once past the gap between grew quickly. i’m not a pedrosa fan (not even close) but i was seriously impressed that he gutted it out.

i was also very impressed with the crew of rookies. lorenzo, toseland, and andrea dovizioso (jir-scot honda) all faired well. they occupied positions 2-4 in only their first race. dovi is geat fun to watch as he manhandles his rcv212. he also pulled a “valentino” on the man himself stuffing him on penultimate corner on the last lap.

even though the race was a bit boring (i almost dozed off midrace) plenty of news came from it. the next race is in 3 weeks at jerez which is a more technical, twisty track where hp shouldn’t be as much a factor. hopefully, the field will bring it to stoner and end this madness.

 

mudfest – ama sx roundup

i don’t frequently watch moto/supercross (what’s the diff, anyway?) but i couldn’t stop watching. kinda like bad porn :P the last round of the supercross season was held in horrendous conditions fri night on the infield of daytona int’l speedway. torrential rains turned the usual fast-paced big-air race into a slow trudge through mud that would suck ur boot off. the gaps between the bumps and jumps filled with water and became mini lakes. the shortened races was unpredicable with bikes and riders being swallowed by gaping mudpits (think sarlacc in return of the jedi). these guys must’ve felt like kids again playing in the mudhole except this time they were getting paid. the main event was a war of attrition with kevin windham taking the win over favorite chad reed. this looked like fun ^_^