FP1 has the usual suspects at the top with Rea and Lowes going 1-2 and Raz 3rd. Would like to see Lowes at the sharp end of the stick more often this year.
Joined Oct 2015
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Siebenbürgen süße Heimat!
Rea looking his beautiful self, it's so good to see. I'd say its soothing if I could pronounce th-sounds.
Redding? Bmw and a neck tattoo?Sure you can .... up. Once.
you don't come back from two bad choices.
Raz vs rea 2.
Hook me up, I need this in my veins
Redding? Bmw and a neck tattoo?Sure you can .... up. Once.
you don't come back from two bad choices.
Raz vs rea 2.
Hook me up, I need this in my veins
Watched FP1 of WSS and there is no commentary. It was cool just listening to the bikes. The Panigale V2 sounds like a loud fart into a coffee can.................but in a good way.
Haven't watched race 2 yet but race 1 and the superpole race were fantastic. Bautista is back and looking as if he will shake things up in a way Scott Redding could not.
Also, even if you don't follow supersport, if you can go back and watch at least the last 2 laps of race 1. Let's just say Marc Marquez would be proud. Great finish.
Oh, speaking of Redding. In race 1 he was 4th out of 4 BMWs, placing behind not only the independent bikes but also the replacement rider for the injured Michael van der Mark. That's gotta sting.
Also, even if you don't follow supersport, if you can go back and watch at least the last 2 laps of race 1. Let's just say Marc Marquez would be proud. Great finish.
Oh, speaking of Redding. In race 1 he was 4th out of 4 BMWs, placing behind not only the independent bikes but also the replacement rider for the injured Michael van der Mark. That's gotta sting.
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Solid racing as always in WSBK. Particularly, enjoyed the beginning battle in SBK Race 2. No one wanted to get in line and battle later. Each rider had to lead the lap.
World Supersport is headed in an interesting direction, but the bikes are too severely detuned at present. They look too slow and too unsettled when racing. The bigger bikes are barely audible on the TV feed because they can barely breathe.
Overall, SBK is in a strange place. The bikes are not really created equally as Yamaha and Ducati have superior drive. The 180 crank inline-4 engines need significant electronic assistance and incredible riders to stay in touch. Kawasaki has it, BMW is lost. Honda struggling. Suzuki not even trying.
It matters because the national series can’t follow WSBK if the bikes are expensive but not equal. They’d be better off running super stock which is cheap but not equal or creating their own rulebook like BSB. Production bike racing is in a weird place.
World Supersport is headed in an interesting direction, but the bikes are too severely detuned at present. They look too slow and too unsettled when racing. The bigger bikes are barely audible on the TV feed because they can barely breathe.
Overall, SBK is in a strange place. The bikes are not really created equally as Yamaha and Ducati have superior drive. The 180 crank inline-4 engines need significant electronic assistance and incredible riders to stay in touch. Kawasaki has it, BMW is lost. Honda struggling. Suzuki not even trying.
It matters because the national series can’t follow WSBK if the bikes are expensive but not equal. They’d be better off running super stock which is cheap but not equal or creating their own rulebook like BSB. Production bike racing is in a weird place.
As I'm sure you know, Yamaha came up with an improvement to the electronics and, according to WSBK, Toprak is happy with it. The Yamaha was smoked on the back straight, though.
I wasn't aware, but I'm not surprised. Superbikes have so much power, they all need electronics of some kind. I think the 180 crank teams need more help than others. Kawasaki seems to be the only people willing to dedicate the resources in WSBK.
Unfortunately, this will be an issue going forward, and I'm not sure how SBK will adjust. Maybe the bikes will be for sale, but you'll have to lease the factory electronics to make them work? Or maybe they will move to spec electronics, turn everything off, and then the teams will change their bikes.
Dunno. Not looking great honestly. Even with 1000cc and 4-cylinder for all, they are struggling to find a balancing algorithm.
https://www.superbikeplanet.com/unf...g-has-spent-more-to-accomplish-less-than-bmw/
After one of the worst race weekends in BMW's recent history, they release a puff piece about their race director.
I guess the marketing people need something to do, but asking Marc Bongers about his favorite color is a bit off message.
After one of the worst race weekends in BMW's recent history, they release a puff piece about their race director.
I guess the marketing people need something to do, but asking Marc Bongers about his favorite color is a bit off message.
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