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Not a great start by Nicky at Qatar at the weekend. I said months ago that I thought nicky would struggle to get in the top 3 of the honda's this year, never mind top 3 in the championship. Will he get better and where do you think he'll finish by the end of the year??

I think the Duc's are gonna rule this year....

i look for him to come in at 7th or 8th. i don't think he has the skill to sort out a bike's problems and he'll suffer because of it. last year was a fluke, he didn't win the series out of sheer skill and determination, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

i mentioned to a friend at the beginning of last season that stoner was one fast kid, but i don't think either of the ducks will be in the top three at season's end unless stoner has learned how not to pitch motorbikes into the gravel traps.

A few people commented last year that while stoner was fast, he didn't have the fitness required to race a 990 at race pace for 40 minutes.
Maybe they were right. He's a year older now, he has more experience, possibly more stamina and as an added bonus the bike isn't as powerfull.
Have the bikes got any lighter or are they still at the same weight as the 990's?.

not sure about the weight of the bikes but i can't imagine them being as heavy as the 990's. maybe a few pounds lighter?

Just looked it up and its 148kg for 4 cylinder bikes this year, 155 for 5 cylinders. Same as last year as far as I know. Maybe the 7 kg difference has helped stoner? One thing that definately has is the speed .
The dukes have certainly got the legs on the other bikes at the moment. They've taken the top 4 places in maximum speed.
I'm quite surprised at the differences in speed, also by who got what.
Rossi is well down the list, but the ilmor is quite high up...

those damn ducks have been fast since they first debuted in the series. it was obvious while watching the race that they just had way more engine than the others.

the honda speeds don't surprise me, the always seem to have a good start when it comes to the engine's power development.

personally, if i was a pro i would be much more confident in my team knowing we had a good chassis. engine development seems like something where it is easier to correct small problems, whereas a shitty chassis seems to take lotsa work to get a rider working well on.

i look for the m1 to be making more juice soon.

did you happen to read the article that commented on yamaha's use of the inline four and the fact that it might not be as powerful as the others v-fours?

I've not seen the article, but it doesn't surprise me to hear. But motorcycles are funny things. More power doesn't mean you lap quicker.
there seems to be a very fine balance to get it right.
its no good being 15kph faster down the straight if you cant make the corner.

exactly. that's why i would be happier with a chassis package that was working well at the start of a season.

course, no one asks me if i want to help develop a pro race bike...

Hey Jason,

Would you like to help develop a "Professional Race Series Motorcycle"?

why yes tim, yes i would. shall we start a race team?

Brotherhood Racing Inc.

We'll use your bike....

You guys are soooo funny...

hahaha. good one!

FZRDude wrote:I think the Duc's are gonna rule this year....

unless the other bikes get some horsepower upgrades, i tend to agree...i could not believe the straight line pull stoner's bike had going down to the start/finish line...

Well here we are, 5 races done and it looks like fzrdudes prediction is coming true. It also looks like Haydens doing even worse than I predicted. I did say that I thought he would struggle to be in the top 3 honda's and he's currently 4th out of the 6, but I did think think he would be inside the top 10 in the championship. Theres still a long way to go yet I guess, but will he move up or drop further down?
I really enjoyed yesterdays race, the changing conditions really added to the excitement. I couldn't believe it when the two french riders got to 1st and 2nd positions. was a bit surprised when they both went out though, I thought frogs were supposed to be good in the wet
Looking forward to the next race now. Would like to see a few more wet races. Doningtons a distinct possibility i'd say, you can't really expect good weather in june in the UK.

Where will Nicky finish in this years championship

OUT OF A JOB

Move over Nicky, and pass your keys to James Tosland on the way out, Oh, and thanks for beating the Italian fellow for us, much appreciated

And when did Casey win this years championship...........When he highsided a 250 in front of Pedrosa at Phillip island, nothing motivates more than failure to succeed.............and i think Casey now really believes

But the racing has been great, espically if your an Aussie
and a great mix of bikes and the tyre duel is very interesting

And after all that, i still can't wait to see Colin Edwards stand on the top step, i don't think anyone deserves a win more than him

stan

I'd love to see Edwards on the top step, he deserves it. I still cant believe what happened at Assen last year!!. You have to feel for him after Lemans, that wasa fantastic job he did getting pole then his weekend just fell apart. First he gets a tyre that wont work, he comes in, changes to a wet setup bike and promptly wrecks the tyre before the real rain started. talk about bad luck!!

hmmmm edawrds is a wsb rider.hurts me to say it as i like the bloke but hes not cutting it is he.

I think the following should go,tamada,checca and nakano
get some new hungry riders in.

I hope toseland dont go with ducati and goes with hona in moto gp,he deserves a good ride.

too many just goto moto gp on shit bikes just to say they been in moto gp.
would be nice to see a good rider go on a good bike.

Now the tyre rule is in place, you have seen Edwards real pace.

No more flying tyres in overnight for Vale, his back in the pack inregard to that

But Colin MUST put a win together soon, as there is a few guys in the 250's that want, and probly deserve a Moto GP seat. Yamaha missed out on Stoner, so need to get a young guy in to fill the void to be left by Rossi in the years to come.

Troy Bayliss is a WSBK rider, hopped on a Duke that he had never ridden, on tyers that wern't familiar, and smoked them

Edwards has the talent, lets not forget he has ridden 250 GP bikes in the US domestic scene, so he should be able to adapt to the higher corner speeds of the 800's, but the time for excuses is fast running out

stan