http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/161068/1/...ogp_v_wsbk.html

lol @ Suzuki

So, when will the FIM do something about the Aprilia? Soon BMW will be up there. The Japanese manufacturers will NOT build prototypes for Superbike racing, they'll simply leave.

not exactly a prototype, its true mass production
Ducati's weight break has not made any difference

It is not (just)the Aprilia, it is Max...

FIM has always favored the small Italian teams and it's one reason I rather watch motogp. Here is the regulations make the best bike you can. In SB it's a matter of tweaking the rules in a way that some will get an advantage.

Ducati SBK 'success' has always been meaningless to me since they got to cheat on displacement.

I haven't seen the race yet but this Tamburini kid seems impressive. He had home track advantage but that doesn't just hand you a top 5 in WSS.

And on a bike that by WSS standards is a year old

Do you understand that the number of cylinders has an impact on performance? Even MotoGP have different weights depending on the number of cylinders.

My problem with the equivalence formula is that the twins always get the upper hand for a bit and then it's up to the Japanese and the private teams to claw it back through development. Once that happens it's time to give the twins another advantage.

Was Tamburini on an 09 R6? The only changes for 2010 on the R6 was some revised ECU settings and a different exhaust can, two things not relevant to race bikes. Still, I'm sure his bike is NOT up to WSS standards and doesn't have the compliment of engineers that the top teams have.

It looks like he races Supersport in the Italian national series?

He also raced in 125 Grands Prix in 2006-07, but without any great success.

And who was forcing Ducati to make a V-twin? The advantage they had was ridiculous, and the formula was made to ensure Ducati won most of the races. Of course, Ducati will sell everyone the story that it was their 'sublime' chassis and what not, typical Italian BS. Honda had to make an all new engine and bike to overcome the disadvanatage, and they kicked Ducati's ass in the first year with Edwards winning the title. Telling.

The motoGP minimum weight/cylinders situation is not comparable, that is much fairer (if unnecessary), and significantly fine grained equalization.

They're the same thing, Ducati just insists on calling it an L because the forward cylinder lays almost parallel to the ground.

Post be disappearin right in front of my eyes I can't believe it.

Other manufactures also could make V2-s (Honda did, and they win 2 titles with the VTR/RC-51 in 3 years and the Aprilia also works well) or V4-s...

Casey pulls no punches



and again



It would be nice it all in MotoGP spoke this openly

Thank you Casey for speaking your mind, about time someone pushes for an increase in the number of bikes.

Max does a double again. This year the championship is almost his. Race 1 was close, Checa seriously deserves a better bike Race 2 was dull except for the first few laps.

What is going on with Ten Kate and Jonny Rea, they are contenders at one round and absolutely nowhere the next, what gives?

The Aprilia is like the Ducati only with more power. Unstoppable.

Feel sorry for Haslam who has done things on the Suzuki which I never thought were possible, rider of the year by far imo.

Right on this years field is pathetic,dont even watch MotoGP because of that

Casey has hit the nail on the head entirely here. Where are all the 2, 3 or 4 year old bikes? They should be on the grid as well. It seems that the manufacturers are happier when they are "leasing" bikes, rather than selling them outright. Unless the bikes can filter down the ladder, there's no way that the smaller teams can get on the grid. The manufacturers have manoeuvred the series into this position.

Could the 2009 bikes be adapted to the new engine lasting regulations?
As much as Elias has been fine in Moto 2, it would be better if he had stuck in Moto GP with a year old Honda, just to name one bike and rider.

Finally. Someone on the inside saying what I have, and other fans, have been saying for ages.

Now with increasing amounts of injuries, the problem is being further exposed. Casey is absolutely right on both counts.

I think they should also remove the rookie/factory ride rule which is plain daft.

What about all the Kawasakis? They just disappeared. Wouldn't it have been better for them to have been sold to independent teams?

"In the old days they'd have two-year-old 500cc bikes and still stick it up there and try to get a podium. These days they just complain about whatever they've got."

"Last year's bikes are all being crushed or whatever, just put them on the grid," he said. "I'm sure they've got enough parts just sitting there. Even if each manufacturer ran one more of last year's bike, there's another four on the grid straight off.

"I'm sure if they were just one rider teams, some of the Moto2 teams would jump at that opportunity. There are no bikes for them [now].

"I'm sure there's a way they can sort it out to run last year's bikes, then smaller teams can grab a hold. It's always been like that for years, but now it just seems to have disappeared."

Totally agree with Stoners comments.

They pulled out because they were rubbish. Also, presumably, to put more resources into their new Ninja ZX-10R 2011 superbike.

But some independents could have taken the bikes on! I have no issue with the factory team pulling out, but independents could have at least had the opportunity to run the bikes themselves.

Did pretty well as Hayate compared to Suzuki and some of the other privateers

Totally agree with Stoner's comments as i think most people here will do.

Also about Yamaha replacing Rossi with an old fart who hasn't raced on a high level for ages. I mean there are so much more better riders out there who could do it, i mean what about a Gary McCoy? I know he is old but at least he raced on a high level until this year.

Very nice of Stoner to tell his opinion about some important matters about MotoGP. I think many of the other riders have similar thoughts but are not so outspoken about it.

He should also have added that the poor standin choice of Yamaha is not only bad for potential riders who would grab the opportunity but also show little care about the fans. Personally I have decided to let my wallet speak and not buy any Yamaha products even though I had a preference for their bikes, pianos, receivers and surround speakers because of Rossi.

But how come Spies and Crutchlow rejected the ride? One would think that any rider in the world wouldn't think twice about getting to ride Rossi's bike. I guess if you are on the way up and care for your reputation then you weigh the odds and conclude you have more to lose than gain. I would understand it in Crutchlow's situation because I think it would look quite bad with one FIAT Yamaha on pole and another in 15th position, but Spies would get better shots at podium positions.

They didn't. Spies can't and Edwards would have to move up to make room for Cal.

Kind of odd how Casey is so outspoken lately. Is he opening up or frustrated?

Australian.

Was I hearing correctly that on the BBC broadcast they said the Scot team in Moto2 is out of money as the sponsor payments haven't come in? This should free up de Angelis and Canepa to MotoGP if true.

He's always been Australian, but rarely this outspoken AND sensible.

Kinda makes me warm up to him a bit.

Right. Now translate this economic reality to what Stoner said. As much as Casey is right about the atrocious grid sizes, I don't know of too many sponsors in these trying economic times that would pay to field a team on a one- or two-year-old bike trundling around at the back. What he says is true enough from a fan/viewer standpoint, but the financial truths of the world mean that this will not be a possibility, at least in the near term.

BTW, Kawasaki pulled out due to the same issue: lack of sponsorship. Yes, they were rubbish. Rubbish team = Running at the back of the grid = No sponsorship dollars = What Casey said is a load of bollocks in the real world.

And, as I said upthread, Yamaha were bound to run the old guy because of contractual issues within Yamaha. Don't let reality get in the way of anyone's rant, though. And incidentally, Spies was never under consideration.

stoner is completely right, be nice if valentino would throw his weight behind the comments too, i'm sure he agrees

yamaha giving the ride to an elderly man is ridiculous, look at espargaro, he couldn't even get a 250 ride last year and ended up with a GP ride this year because he was just given a chance, and he's doing brilliantly this season

the only thing he's wrong about is the suzuki satellite bikes, cause i mean...who's gonna want them?

Well put. Perhaps we should see if Casey would put his millions into a year old privateer bike and a rookie rider that is more likely to toss it off track?

Everyone is frustrated by grid size but if the solution were simple then the problem would already be gone. The 1000cc rules will make a difference, but it's still extremely expensive to ship 3-4 bikes and dozens of people around the world each year while at the same time paying them a decent salary.

Perhaps Casey is just worried that there's not a whole lot of people behind him when he has a bad race.

ExACTly!

Exacry x 2!

And well said Lady E, but I fear the sensible, factual comments you made are destined to be ignored by many here lately. Unfortunately this thread has now become the zone of the trolls. Not sure where they came from, but they sure are out in force lately.

Neil

Yes, sadly. It's sort of giggle-worthy, really.

'Cos I'm just a girl and all that.

Liar, girls have never been known to exist on the internet.

Especially girls who use the word "bollocks."

Never mind them. See what I did there?

Oh dear, we've derailed the thread. Quick, somebody speculate about something!

Uh . . . Uh . . . Rossi back by Brno! He'll be at Indy! beanoid is happy!

Howzzat?

i am NOT a boy, i am NOT

Kawasaki pulled out but then Hayate and Melandri were so good on the same package. With some good support from Kawasaki I wonder what they could have managed?

Beanoid, what are the contractual issues with Yamaha? I keep on hearing about it on this forum but have no clue on what they are? How do they stop from a having a rider like Gary McCoy or whoever decent enough to ride that bike?
And if it does then the guy who framed it must be shot.

About Stoner opening up. More power to him.

I don't know all of the details, but it's something about Yamaha being obligated to use one of their test riders in some capacity if one of their regularly contracted riders gets injured. That's why the Crutchlow scenario was feasible: Crutchlow on the Fiat Yamaha, test dude on the WSBK. However, Crutchlow turned it down. It was never offered to Colin or Ben (would've created too many problems within Tech 3), and we all know how Toseland did on a GP bike. Jarvis has continuously indicated, from the start, that they were always going to use someone *from within Yamaha*, so some great Moto2 up-and-comer or McCoy (I'm sorry--but--please, get real) was never going to be offered the seat. Using Yoshikawa was just the most practical thing to do, from a business perspective--which isn't always the most attractive thing to the fans. <shrug>

Now, here's something from the rumor mill, courtesy of David Emmett: Yamaha asked Rossi to take a €4-5 million pay cut next year, based on Yamaha's ongoing financial difficulties, to which he amicably agreed. Then news starts circulating that they're giving a €4 million raise . . . the a certain Jorge Lorenzo. And further news that Ducati have waved €15 million in front of a certain Italian, as opposed to Yamaha's newly revised figure of €9-10 million. . . .

I wonder if Vale's still gagging to end his career at Yamaha, or if he's spending his convalescence assessing how well red compliments his skin tone. . . .

No current rider stands to gain anything by riding for Fiat while Lorenzo is out dominating races. Most of them would have to ride for Tech 3 anyway, with Edwards moving up to Fiat.

Well, I agree with you Beanoid. McCoy only rise to fame might be the tails out riding style
I heard the same thing being said by the commentators during the race. Its a huge € stick that Ducati is waving in front of Rossi. I hope he bites.
2011 then promises a thriller, grid size notwithstanding

Thanks for the explanation.

i dont know how much viewing F1 have compares to motogp but F1 guys seems to be fine with money. These trying economic times are mainly western countries problems, asian countries (where the growth is) are doing fine. Motogp should copy bernie and expand to the East, where growth and opportunities lie. Motorbikes, in particular, scooter are more popular in the East than in the West mainly due to the fact that its cheaper to buy and run.
how much difference in budget is there between moto2 and motogp. If moto2 can find the money then surely the economic situation is not that bad.

Did Peter Sauber tell you this? Or maybe Adrian Campos? No no, it must have been Peter Windsor?