Moto GP 2012

[stan]

Here we go again for another year of Premier Class racing;

2012 sees the introduction of the "Claiming Rule Teams (CRT)", the introduction of 1000cc bikes, and the introduction of the Moto 3 class, 250cc singles, replacing the 125 GP class

In Moto GP, the factory teams (or Factory Prototypes which include the Satellite teams) are limited to 6 engines and 21 Lt fuel tanks, whilst the CRT bikes get 12 engines and 24 Lt fuel capacity, have a read at the link below; http://motomatters.com/analysis/2011/11 ... d_to_.html

So with all this change what do we get??

For mine, going on past form, with 10 wins last year, (3 for Jorge and Dani, 1 for Spies) and fastest over winter testing, Casey will be the man to beat, again. Expect a stronger showing form the Tech 3 team, and Ducati to have another wayward season as they try and create an Italian yamaha to suit Vale. Ducati are on the 6th chassis since the arrival of the great man, and freely admit they are lost with respect to which way to go. With no Suzuki this year, we have the arrival of Aprilla as a CRT, who have Randy DePuniet aboard the ART bike. In fact the V4 Aprilla engine is the power plant of choice for CRT teams.

1: Casey Stoner. To strong, to fast when he needs to be
2: Jorge Lorenzo. Fast, Consistant, but won't have the machine to go with Casey
3: Dani Pedrosa. When the stars align and everything falls into place, unbeatable.

stan

[kiwi60]

If Yamaha can find more power, then Honda may have a fight on their hands, but Stoner is still the top of the list when it comes to getting the best out of which ever bike he's riding.

I think Ben Spies might also be an emerging factor this year, going on some of the close racing he produced last year.

[spook]

Bring it on!

[Big Jon]

Spies could be fun to watch on a bike with enough power to make him smile, he's still at a disadvantage compared to the jockeys, but outright cornerspeed may not rule completely with the added power. Oh to bring back McCoys style.

[stan]

Spies was a strong contender for my earlier list. Nothing like having someone breathing down your neck to make you lift your game. Yamaha have hedged there bets by bringing Dovizioso into the fold, give him a season on the Tech 3 bike, and if Ben hasn't performed, they have a really solid replacement in the wings, and his desire to beat Honda would be greater than that of Yamaha, i think they treated him very poorly..

stan

[YEC_YZF750SP]

Hi Guys,

In my opinion, as much as I hate to say it because I don't like him, Casey Stoner is the man to beat. But that doesn't mean that I expect him to win the title again.

Ben Spies needs to step up and bring his "game on" because quite frankily, I was VERY DISAPPOINTED with his results last year, especially after his amazing 2009 WSB performance.

I thinks Jorge has a great chance at taking the title back as long as he finishes every race, because the Yamaha has showed good speed in testing and the gap to Honda is a lot smaller now.

Cheers,

Julian

[Big Jon]

Now that I've seen what the Yamaha can be capable of (GO Crutchlow and Divvie!) I'm wondering what happened to Spies bike, I think he even got passed by Edwards on the fastest CRT bike! Good race great finish. Moto2 was awesome too, gotta wait a few more days before they show us Moto3, but I'm OK with that.

[stan]

Told you to watch out for the Tech3 guys, they might as well enjoy it while they can as their bike would be almost identical to the factory bikes at this point in time. We'll see how they are going by mid year when the factory bikes have had an update or 2. Crutchlow knows the Tech 3 team have signed Bradley Smith next year for moto GP, and Dovi is licking his lips to see Spies fail. I don't think Edwards got past Spies in the end, but a few more laps might have been a different story. The biggest story of the night for me was Casey and his arm pump. He did very few long runs in pre season testing, concentrating more on bike set up in 10/12 lap runs. Maybe he is spending to much time being a new dad than in the gym, but if you believe the stories, Casey has never seen the inside of a gym his whole career.

Overall, loved the new 1000cc bikes, but not a fan of the CRT bikes, and nice to see tyres coming back to play a bigger role at the end of the race, don't worry about Ben, his a fighter and one race does not a season make


Go Casey

stan

[spook]

Imagine how things would be without the CRT bikes. 12 factory supplied machines on the grid. Pretty pathetic. I enjoyed the sound of the 1000's, but think the season is going to be a bit ho-hum. Those moto3 machines! god help us! They should have a custard skin pulling competition after the race!

[kiwi60]

Not a bad idea

[spook]

MotoGP rider times: 800cc v 1000cc

Rider 2011 / 2012 Time difference*
Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (2nd)/ Yamaha (1st) +2.205sec
Dani Pedrosa Honda (3rd) / Honda (2nd) +1.446sec
Casey Stoner Honda (1st) / Honda (3rd) +8.553sec
Cal Crutchlow Yamaha (11th) / Yamaha (4th) -11.780sec
Andrea Dovizioso Honda (4th) / Yamaha (5th) +17.123sec
Nicky Hayden Ducati (9th) / Ducati (6th) +6.642sec
Hector Barbera Ducati (12th) / Ducati (9th) +2.200sec
Valentino Rossi Ducati (7th) / Ducati (10th) +22.879sec
Ben Spies Yamaha (6th) / Yamaha (11th) +52.084sec
Colin Edwards Yamaha (8th) / Suter-BMW (12th) +37.440sec

[Hooligan]

well, i didn't get to see the race because in an effort to save money i had my cable service disconnected a few months ago. plus, i have been too damn lazy/busy to find streaming coverage on the web. i did, however, read the post-race articles.

i would like to see spies do something a bit more impressive this year. i like him better than jorge and he is on the factory yamaha. i read that he had some serious bike problems after binning it in practice/qualifying.

the grid is still pathetic in my opinion.

[stan]

Casey, too fast, too strong. A young man with his head in a good space. Lorenzo put in all he could at his attempt to get past Casey last night, he just didn't have to goods to get the job done.

Rossi back in 10th, Hayden showed that the Duke is making good progress, and is not a bike 2sec off pole. Do you loose talent, or just loose confidence in your talent?? I'm sure if Rossi went and joined the old mans club in WSBK he would win a world championship

stan

[spook]

Do you loose talent, or just loose confidence in your talent?? stan

Lol. that's a good question Stan. Running over your mates head would have to slow you down a bit? I reckon after something like that happened to you, you would possibly re-evaluate how important what you are doing is. Look at what happened when Rainy broke his back...Schwantz almost immediately retired.

[stan]

Schwantz completed only 15 more races from Raineys crash in 93 till his retirement only 3 races in to the 95 season. I noted with interest that Rossi now sports a "58" on his own lid. Like i said, Casey in a good head space, and pushing for world championship 3, Rossi not in such a good head space, 2 sec off pole

stan

[spook]

let's not get emotional now Stan...

[spook]

I no longer ride, but i like to watch.....

So we are going to upgrade the sig soon Stan??

[stan]

I'm still watching, pipes haven't turned up yet so still no roadworthy. no roadworthy, no rego. no rego, no ride......

stan

[stan]

So we wait for Rossi again, will he stick it out with Ducati, and maybe a future in car racing with new owners Audi, or head back to Yamaha, with sponsorship money in tow, and try and chase down Ago's 122 race wins

If he heads back to Yamaha, do they put him in a 1 bike team, or put him in the same shed as Lorenzo????

stan

[stan]

Well that answers that question.
Rossi is going for the glory, heading back to Yamaha. He has turned his back on Ducati, after they spent the GDP of a small african nation in trying to make the big red duke a Yamaha clone,

He may be one of the best rides of all time, but his spit the dummy attitude has worn thin, do your 2 years back at Yamaha then pack your bags.....

stan