Misano Race Thread (spoilers)

[michaelm]

Rossi did what he did to become competitive again under very new, and very restrictive tyre supply regs that essentially made Michelin, and their approach, uncompetitive.....if these restrictions weren't put in place, Michelin would have continued to dominate and Rossi or Dani would not have switched. I don't blame Rossi for it as it proved to be hugely successful and the right move (unlike some of his more recent decisions!)

I actually wasn't on board for him dumping Michelin at all, I feel for Michelin as their financial management let them down in the end.....IMO they were far more in-tune with this type Motorcycle racing than Bridgestone ever were, and had they had the resources to continue or at least put a tender app in for the sole supplier rights, then it could have been a far different story......



As we are seeing now, Bridgestone is providing 2-3 choices all that work in a very similar and narrow range.......typical of what they have always done. The sport needs to be opened up to competition once again....only this time the supply restriction needs to be lifted.....there is no doubt that Dorna and the MSMA's cost cutting measures have all only proved to do the opposite.....what harm could be done by letting the teams and riders have the choice of rubber, which is being constantly developed for a motorcycle....not the other and more costly way around.

I am opposed to the control tyre for similar reasons to you and was from the time it was first mooted.I had no objection to rossi going to bridgestone either, one of the few non-rossi fans to have this position, as long as no coercion was involved; I tend to think there probably wasn't and bridgestone were happy to be supplying tyres to rossi.



I don't think bridgestone can be blamed for the current situation though. They didn't want the control tyre either, and michelin didn't tender to provide the control tyre.I think the demise of the sns tyres was with michelin's approval as well, the cost of supplying such tyres being unsustainable, not helped by their overall financial situation and the gfc as you imply.



The blame for michelin's demise can be laid firmly at the door of dorna and rossi, and subsequently pedrosa, and any conspiracy was by them. If you want to argue that dumping michelin, the long-term supplier and rusted -on supporter of motogp was unwise, I agree. It was an example of short termism, not least by rossi.

 

[povol]

I am opposed to the control tyre for similar reasons to you and was from the time it was first mooted.I had no objection to rossi going to bridgestone either, one of the few non-rossi fans to have this position, as long as no coercion was involved; I tend to think there probably wasn't and bridgestone were happy to be supplying tyres to rossi.



I don't think bridgestone can be blamed for the current situation though. They didn't want the control tyre either, and michelin didn't tender to provide the control tyre.I think the demise of the sns tyres was with michelin's approval as well, the cost of supplying such tyres being unsustainable, not helped by their overall financial situation and the gfc as you imply.



The blame for michelin's demise can be laid firmly at the door of dorna and rossi, and subsequently pedrosa, and any conspiracy was by them. If you want to argue that dumping michelin, the long-term supplier and rusted -on supporter of motogp was unwise, I agree. It was an example of short termism, not least by rossi.

What goes around, comes around. Cause and effect, or anything else you want to call it, i personally think some people are being disingenuous when they say, oh i wasnt for the one tire rule, but i was ok with Rossi ditching Michelin. Anyone with any sense knew what was coming when Rossi made the move. There was no way to stop the defections after allowing it, leading to a defacto one tire rule.I find it quite funny that it came full circle to bite him in the ....

 

[mylexicon]

Rossi did what he did to become competitive again under very new, and very restrictive tyre supply regs that essentially made Michelin, and their approach, uncompetitive.....if these restrictions weren't put in place, Michelin would have continued to dominate and Rossi or Dani would not have switched. I don't blame Rossi for it as it proved to be hugely successful and the right move (unlike some of his more recent decisions!)

I actually wasn't on board for him dumping Michelin at all, I feel for Michelin as their financial management let them down in the end.....IMO they were far more in-tune with this type Motorcycle racing than Bridgestone ever were, and had they had the resources to continue or at least put a tender app in for the sole supplier rights, then it could have been a far different story......



As we are seeing now, Bridgestone is providing 2-3 choices all that work in a very similar and narrow range.......typical of what they have always done. The sport needs to be opened up to competition once again....only this time the supply restriction needs to be lifted.....there is no doubt that Dorna and the MSMA's cost cutting measures have all only proved to do the opposite.....what harm could be done by letting the teams and riders have the choice of rubber, which is being constantly developed for a motorcycle....not the other and more costly way around.

The new tire rules for 2007 merely halted overnight specials. The fuel rules and the capacity changes revolutionized the sport, but Michelin were caught flat-footed. Rossi wasn't battling against the regulations, he was battling against a technical partner, as he has done on several occasions. Rossi was convinced that Michelin were screwing him over on behalf of Honda, and he knew that Bridgestone were screwing him over b/c they believed it was good for business. He pulled rank and altered the game.......for himself so he could beat Stoner. I'm sure he convinced Ezpeleta that he was the only person who could challenge Stoner.



While Bridgestone's horrible execution of control tire supply has left me questioning the concept behind a program that should be painfully simple to implement, there is a great deal of harm in allowing teams to run whatever tires they want. Cost is not the issue, it is merely the rallying cry Dorna used to get support from IRTA and the fans. The real issue is performance, particularly during the 21L era when maintaining cornerspeed pays double dividends by reducing lap time and saving fuel. The better the tires got, the higher the top speeds on the straight (b/c the corner exit speed increased out of the final turn), and the higher corner entry speeds became. Higher top speeds and higher corner entry speeds were threatening FIM circuit homologation procedures. MotoGP does not have the clout to ask for major circuit modifications so they decided to chop engine displacement and fuel capacity.



Certain marketing concerns within MotoGP like to create a public dialogue about cost, fairness, etc. It is certainly a fun dialogue to stave off boredom and contemplate various interpretations of MotoGP, but at it's core, the entire debate is about creating bikes that do not go faster b/c the FIM doesn't have homologation procedures to cope with such machines. A tire war is fine, but it would have to be heavily regulated via homologation procedures. Like the WSBK control tire war, the new MotoGP tire war may end up being lower performance than the control tire.

 

[Jumkie]

Yeah, what's that Jumkie? The BBC interviewed Nicky during the race and the first words out of his mouth were: "Man, I hate this place!".



What a ........! Doesn't he know the people of Misano bent over backwards to accommodate motogp? He should take some media training!



Jankin' your chain dude....

I said i hate Misano for a couple of reasons. One, because Nicky crashed, so chalk it up to my fanboyism; but the other is because of the ...... disrespectful fans that booed Lorenzo on the podium. It was bad enuf, but they did it while Wayne Rainey was on the same platform. What a disgrace. F Misano and the the fans who booed. No respect. Track invasion. No respect. No presence of mind to realize Mr. Rainey had returned to the place of his accident and was honored by being on the podium to get trophy. No respect. Count the other places where something like this could happen. U guys want to talk crap about the ugly grandstand at Indy, how about the ugly people in the seats of other places?



F Misano and the fans that hav no respect.

 

[inam22]

I said i hate Misano for a couple of reasons. One, because Nicky crashed, so chalk it up to my fanboyism; but the other is because of the ...... disrespectful fans that booed Lorenzo on the podium. It was bad enuf, but they did it while Wayne Rainey was on the same platform. What a disgrace. .... Misano and the the fans who booed. No respect. Track invasion. No respect. No presence of mind to realize Mr. Rainey had returned to the place of his accident and was honored by being on the podium to get trophy. No respect. Count the other places where something like this could happen. U guys want to talk .... about the ugly grandstand at Indy, how about the ugly people in the seats of other places?



.... Misano and the fans that hav no respect.

Chill out Jumkie, don't be so dramatic about it. We are talking about 100 or 200 idiots out of 70000 or 80000 fans who attended the race. You will always find these kind of lunatics no matter which part of the world you go to.

 

[ScottP]

Even though I'm a Casey fan I feel very disappointed and think that Casey’s flimsy excuse of being tired and having tired hands is just not good enough of an excuse for his poor performance at Misano. This is especially when he is the quickest man around Misano and especially after his dominant performances in practice and qualifying!



Casey has to pull his finger out and think about his fans and not just brush a poor performance or a lacklustre performance which he displayed at Misano off with a flimsy excuse, he looked bad and just didn’t give a .... about the outcome! If there is something wrong with him then he should get treatment!

 

[digger]

Even though I'm a Casey fan I feel very disappointed and think that Casey’s flimsy excuse of being tired and having tired hands is just not good enough of an excuse for his poor performance at Misano. This is especially when he is the quickest man around Misano and especially after his dominant performances in practice and qualifying!



Casey has to pull his finger out and think about his fans and not just brush a poor performance or a lacklustre performance which he displayed at Misano off with a flimsy excuse, he looked bad and just didn’t give a .... about the outcome! If there is something wrong with him then he should get treatment!

yeah, he should go see doctor costa and get a strapadicktome.................. left that one wide open pengiun

 

[Tom]

It was bad enuf, but they did it while Wayne Rainey was on the same platform. What a disgrace. .... Misano and the the fans who booed. No respect. No presence of mind to realize Mr. Rainey had returned to the place of his accident and was honored by being on the podium to get trophy.

I said something along the same lines in my earlier post and i agree with this. As soon as wayne rainey came out on that podium every single person should have stood, cheered, clapped and honoured the man regardless of who won the race or anything else that happened

 

[Talpa]

I said i hate Misano for a couple of reasons. One, because Nicky crashed, so chalk it up to my fanboyism; but the other is because of the ...... disrespectful fans that booed Lorenzo on the podium. It was bad enuf, but they did it while Wayne Rainey was on the same platform. What a disgrace. .... Misano and the the fans who booed. No respect. Track invasion. No respect. No presence of mind to realize Mr. Rainey had returned to the place of his accident and was honored by being on the podium to get trophy. No respect. Count the other places where something like this could happen. U guys want to talk .... about the ugly grandstand at Indy, how about the ugly people in the seats of other places?



.... Misano and the fans that hav no respect.

I agree Jums......the fact that Wayne was up there should have halted any nastiness towards the others no matter your bias.....it was disgraceful.

 

[Mr Squiggle]

I said i hate Misano for a couple of reasons. One, because Nicky crashed, so chalk it up to my fanboyism; but the other is because of the ...... disrespectful fans that booed Lorenzo on the podium. It was bad enuf, but they did it while Wayne Rainey was on the same platform. What a disgrace. F Misano and the the fans who booed. No respect. Track invasion. No respect. No presence of mind to realize Mr. Rainey had returned to the place of his accident and was honored by being on the podium to get trophy. No respect. Count the other places where something like this could happen. U guys want to talk crap about the ugly grandstand at Indy, how about the ugly people in the seats of other places?



F Misano and the fans that hav no respect.

Wayne Rainey is a gentleman of the sport and one of the all time greats...it was pathetic to see this behaviour whilst he was present on the podium directed at Lorenzo by a few sad individuals that have no appreciation for those riders who are at the pinnacle of the sport.



Its unfortunate that the lunatic fringe element of Rossis numerous fans have now directed this sort of rubbish at both Stoner and Lorenzo on separate occaisions....it is something Valentino has come out and strongly condemened in this instance and rightly so.

 

[Jumkie]

Chill out Jumkie, don't be so dramatic about it. We are talking about 100 or 200 idiots out of 70000 or 80000 fans who attended the race. You will always find these kind of lunatics no matter which part of the world you go to.

Sorry for sounding so vitriol, but i was upset & disgusted. Before i sat down to watch the race i showed my wife (who doesnt know much about the sport, but remembered the man is somebody special) the interview with Nick Harris & Mr. Rainey they had on motogpcom. So when i saw him on stage i thought, awesome. I was dissapointed in the race bcuz my hourse didnt finish, but seeing him up there i thought, well this is cool, im glad i watched the podium ceremony. I even imagined the crowd and podium riders might make a special tribute to the man, like point to him, or huddle around him, or something. Then i started to detect the booes. Thats when i got angry. Thats when i verbalized the thought, F this place. I though, damn, not only did they not recognize Wayne Rainey, but they added another ...... memory.



I could hear the over the top track announcer. And i wondered why anybody wouldnt stop the moment and say, yo guys, how about a bit of respect! For both, Lorenzo & Mr. Rainey. It reminded me of how some people get away with certain antics becuz nobody is willing to call people on it for fear of being labeled something (like racist). You mayb be right, perhaps it was just 100-200 people, though i wonder if that represented the same percentage of the home crowd.

 

[michaelm]

Sorry for sounding so vitriol, but i was upset & disgusted. Before i sat down to watch the race i showed my wife (who doesnt know much about the sport, but remembered the man is somebody special) the interview with Nick Harris & Mr. Rainey they had on motogpcom. So when i saw him on stage i thought, awesome. I was dissapointed in the race bcuz my hourse didnt finish, but seeing him up there i thought, well this is cool, im glad i watched the podium ceremony. I even imagined the crowd and podium riders might make a special tribute to the man, like point to him, or huddle around him, or something. Then i started to detect the booes. Thats when i got angry. Thats when i verbalized the thought, F this place. I though, damn, not only did they not recognize Wayne Rainey, but they added another ...... memory.



I could hear the over the top track announcer. And i wondered why anybody wouldnt stop the moment and say, yo guys, how about a bit of respect! For both, Lorenzo & Mr. Rainey. It reminded me of how some people get away with certain antics becuz nobody is willing to call people on it for fear of being labeled something (like racist). You mayb be right, perhaps it was just 100-200 people, though i wonder if that represented the same percentage of the home crowd.

That's the problem with people not knowing history.



Wayne's crash with its immediately obvious consequences is still one of the worst things I have seen live on tv, exceeded in bike racing only by that poor english bloke in the WSS race more recently, and I had forgotten his crash was at misano. Wayne deserves great respect for his achievements in bike racing regardless of anything else, and it is hard to think how anyone could have dealt better with his injury than he has.

 

[FTE217]

As someone mentioned a small % of the crowd are the idiots who spoil it for us genuine followers - yobbos/boguns called here in Oz at the V8Supercars or red necks in the US ?

The other thing its mostly the young uns who as mentioned have no respect but to get shitfaced at the circuit - mind you coming from Italian parents myself I expect these Italian young uns as I would assume DGAF about a great US rider from the Great days of motorcycle racing.

Yes I remember watching that race long ago and couldn't believe the final outcome - shyte I'm getting old !! but heck WR is looking good.

 

[Keshav]

Chill out Jumkie, don't be so dramatic about it. We are talking about 100 or 200 idiots out of 70000 or 80000 fans who attended the race. You will always find these kind of lunatics no matter which part of the world you go to.

The problem is that those couple hundred (vocal) fans are emblematic of a much larger division of fans with that

slavering "Futbol" hooligan mentality to which Dorna too willingly lowers themselves in their attempts to appeal to them.



The whole scenario reminds me of Vonnegut's chilling vision of the future "Welcome To The Monkey" in which

the government utilizes mechanical restraining devices and chemistry to consign all citizens to a life of forced

mediocrity in order that no-one be overly advantaged over his fellow citizen, all in the name of creating a citizenry whose actions are easy to predict and easier to manipulate in order that those at the top should be able to benefit.



So, not a big supporter of any conspiracy (yet) re: the lowering of Dovi's performance set-up - but that sort of thing does seem suspicious in light of Dorna's seeming full support for Mr. Hairball Mc-X Factor who appeals to greatly to the Futbol fans. Appealing to the lowest common denominator has almost always been a successful strategy for companies that sell to a mass market. The more information and and right-thinking is disseminated in this age of information - the harder the forces-that-be work to dumb everything down. The glorious 250s have been replaced with engines from the local Walmart stuffed into fancy frames, and now Dorna has announced that CRT teams are the wave of the future. The control tire... why do you really think they call it that? Just kidding about the last part. Right?

 

[Keshav]

Stubble

 

[Jumkie]

In recent year's I've really liked what Yamaha do to preserve their good will, this pic goes a long way in doing so.



http://roadracingworld.com/enlarge/?section=news&image=7705

 

[FTE217]

Yamaha are the marketering leaders always have been good PR.

 

[yamaka46]

Yamaha are the marketering leaders always have been good PR.

So why have they failed to net any sponsors this year despite Lorenzo being WC? Genuine Q given that I agree that they have always had good PR & marketing nouse.