Having spotted Julian Ryder (moto gp commentator on eurosports) on his stall at the Newark Classic Bike Show, i knew i had to have a chat with him about the moto gp as what he doesn't know really aint worth knowing!!
It seems that this year they are getting more bikes on the grid by allowing production parts to be used so bikes and not just prototype parts....so there will be a few bikes like bmw with production parts and it seems there will also be riders who aint that experienced in teh moto gp racing..... hmmmm this could be good, but it could also as Julian pointed out, mean that a lot of bikes get lapped after 10 laps..... i guess its good having more bikes on grid of course but is it a wastef of time having bikes that dont stand a chance against the prototypes??
and is this common knowledge yet??!!
These production based bikes also have a rule which says that any other team can claim your engine for about 15000 Euro I think - so there is no point spending raffs of good money on an engine .. its almost gonna be " production GP "
IMO MOTO 2 is much better (or has been over the last 2 seasons ), the racing is so much closer, any one of ten riders could win, grids of 38 (the max) .. great racing AND theres two brits involved :)
the more production based bikes are allowed more engines over the season & more fuel per race than the prototypes, thereby levelling the playing field a little (but not enough, i suspect). But something HAS to be done to address the low grid numbers in motogp.
I personally believe the points system need to be seriously looked at - riders should not get points just for finishing a race, and i believe only top 10 finishers should score, until grid numbers increase
One problem that has raised its head in testing is that of the pace of the production based bikes .... they are some seconds a lap off the MotoGP pace .....
Agree about the points sytem - whilst numbers are so low, maybe a points only down to 10th ..
i think production bikes bound to be off the pace in testing when all are using optimum conditions, but race distance when fuel etc come into account is a different matter. i am very doubtful though that they will ever really be on the pace (even non factory bikes struggle!) and i think its "cheapening" the grid to include production bikes - meant to be prototypes and just adding grid numbers for the sake of it sort of misses the point!
i wouldnt bet against it - if he fulfills promise of his WSB championship winning season and rookie motogp year, he should be right up there (despite a bit of a "blip" by his standards last season)
The FIM announced changes to the MotoGP World Championship 2012 provisional calendar, which include a change of date for the opening round in Qatar, the confirmation of the Jerez circuit contract plus the designation of Sachsenring as the circuit to host the Grand Prix of Germany (pending confirmation of the contract). The new schedule for 2012 is as follows:
Date, Grand Prix - Circuit 8 April, Qatar* - Doha/Losail 29 April, Spain - Jerez de la Frontera 6 May, Portugal (STC) - Estoril 20 May, France - Le Mans 3 June, Catalunya - Catalunya 17 June, Great Britain - Silverstone 30 June, Netherlands** - Assen 8 July, Germany (STC) - Sachsenring 15 July, Italy - Mugello 29 July, United States*** - Laguna Seca 19 August, Indianapolis - Indianapolis 26 August, Czech Rep. - Brno 16 September, San Marino & Riviera di Rimini - Misano 30 September, Aragon - Motorland 14 October, Japan - Motegi 21 October, Malaysia - Sepang 28 October, Australia - Phillip Island 11 November, Valencia - Ricardo Tormo – Valencia
hmm interesting Wenders... ive always fancied goin to valencia for the last race as its near me buffdee, but money and all that.... bet ya all glad ya know that hahaha
id like to see jorge do well too as tho i didnt like him to start with he had a few bad offs and he rides with all his heart and he deserves to do well this year... im not sure how well vale is gonna do... has he got to grips with that duke yet??! and of course simoncelli will be missed - with all that passion racing..
I love Ben Spies, actually I think I'll ref-phrase that, I really rate Ben Spies, definitely one for the future?
Don't like the idea of proddie second string bikes wobbling around, sounds like a nightmare for the quick boys? 2 seconds a lap! That's a life time... even if it does fill the grid up a bit.
I am off to watch a VIDEO of Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Ron Haslam, Randy Mamola. See yah.
Hi to you all,
Planning to go down to Mugello in July, need some advice on a good route, places to stay, best area to stay in Mugello, camping/hotels.
Best place at the circuit to see the racing.
Any tips,advice would be welcome.
I went down to Valencia last year and have the bug now.
Thanks Bikerblue
![Moto GP 2012 - Forums [Biker Match]](/images/backgrounds/strips/8mobileLQ.jpg)
![Moto GP 2012 - Forums [Biker Match]](/images/backgrounds/strips/8desktopLQ.jpg)
