Circuit Catalunya Reconfiguration not popular with riders

So the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya layout for GP was ruined(emphasis mine) in the wake of Luis Salom's death last year when they chose to run the F1 layout due to not being able to make the necessary changes to the existing layout.

That section of the track was again revamped for this year's race, and the teams who were testing in private yesterday got a chance to run the second revision of the layout.

Here is the new layout:



Casey Stoner gave it a thumbs down and Loris Baz had nothing good to say on Twitter about it. I suspect more than just the two feel the same way.

Rather than fix the circuit they alter the layout to turn it into another ghastly pile of ..... You'll never see a 2009 final corner battle again because of the change.

Loris baz‏Verified account @lorisbaz

I didnt think you could make a track that I don't like as much as sachsenring but now catalunya is at the same level what a shame!

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I don't want to trivialize Salom's death by any means, but this whole thing strikes me as yet another knee-jerk reaction that does nothing to address why the incident happened, and in the process wrecks the flow of the circuit completely for GP.

Did they had a pit where it was asphalt? Why didn't they do that first? Was it still not enough space for the speeds? I know other tracks are just trapped with some corner.s. The bikes and even cars have gotten too fast and there is no where to go to make safety changes.

And yes, those stop and go F1 corners are not great for motorcycles. However, it might allow some paint swapping at speeds that won't kill someone. So there is that.

Don't mind the Tito's butt.

Motokitty said:

Don't mind the Tito's butt.

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I'm sure you didn't mind the Tito's butt. :giggle:

The thing I have to say though about watching that video is that it serves as a good reminder to me about one thing. In spite of all the grief I give Rabat for his talent relative to the rest of the grid, if all of us on the forum lined up against him on identical Honda RC213V's, he would beat the piss out of all of us. Even the guy who's ability doesn't seem impressive against where the bar is set in GP still has far great talent than the rest of us hacks.

I have been on the track with some very fast people, and even top AMA riders are fast. MotoGP is someplace else.

Off topic quick story for entertainment purposes. (It is told better in person):
I am doing a track-day at Laguna Seca and go to pass a guy under the start bridge between the inside wall and him. There is about 10 feet of room. Just as I am passing him going into one, a bike blows by me on the inside near the wall and disappears around turn two. Smooth as silk. WTF? I happen to notice the name on his leathers as flies through turn one on the paint. "Chandler" it says in white on black leather. It was Doug Chandler. The guy always made me feel like I was dragging a pony behind my bike. :lol:

I'm at the track today (Eastern creek) sydney australia and a guy passed me outside on exiting turn 1, took his left hand off and adjusted his leathers around his bum at the same time. Turn 1 is a very quick corner, fastest entry speed on any track in Aust

He does 1.33's. I get around okay, nothing special but how some folks get those 4-5 seconds a lap (in this case more) is beyond me and my 600cc's

i was at a track day a couple of years ago in NJ. it was the monday after the AMA race at new jersey motorsports park. as everyone has said you dont know how fast these guys are until you are on track with them.

KTM (AMA) rider chris filmore was on track running that day with us mere mortals. anyway the fastest guys werent even close. i cant even imagine how fast the last place GP guy is.

its kind of like seeing a college sports star that didnt make the pros. he is still far and away better than anything you have ever seen just didnt have IT whatever it is.

If anyone isn't up to date on this, Catalunya circuit is being resurfaced and the true final corner is being restored to the original configuration. The stand is being moved too allowing more run off.
Story is on motomatters , good news indeed.

danski said:

If anyone isn't up to date on this, Catalunya circuit is being resurfaced and the true final corner is being restored to the original configuration. The stand is being moved too allowing more run off.
Story is on motomatters , good news indeed.

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Cooler heads prevailed as the track had no choice but to resurface if they wanted to keep the race. The riders voice carries huge weight and Dorna is more than happy to let them lead the charge to force tracks to improve .

danski said:

If anyone isn't up to date on this, Catalunya circuit is being resurfaced and the true final corner is being restored to the original configuration. The stand is being moved too allowing more run off.
Story is on motomatters , good news indeed.

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Ah ha, they found some space. This makes so much more sense. I think it is good news for racing there. Although riders really should have done better at adapting. I mean, aren't they suppose to be the "breast"? Jack was on the right track, at least.