New grid format from Malaysia.

I'll have to agree with you Capirex...They are going to carry more speed into the corners...could be ugly

i think ur right about that capirex. the guy's in the 3rd row on back in particular. makes a good qualifying session that much more important. i guess we'll see soon enough!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (frosty58 @ Aug 30 2006, 03:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>makes a good qualifying session that much more important.

ditto. getting in the front or nearer to the front will be very very vital.

It could be pretty horrific seeing as guys like Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa, Shinya Nakano, && Valentino Rossi all try storming through the grid into the first corner.

The thinking behind it is obviously to make the first turn safer. In doubling the gap between each rider on the grid, the length of each row has been doubled. When you think about it that way it's a lot. Whilst one argument is that 2nd and 3rd row guys are gonna push a little harder into turn one, that is really nothing new, it's the guys further back, 4th row and beyond, that will find it very difficult to reach turn one at the same time so the log jam in turn one should be avoided. 7 or 8 guys going for the holeshot is safe in my book, it's when you get a few guys further back getting off the line quickly that you can get a traffic jam happening, that's how I see the Catalunya incident which we can all guess is the sole reason why the FIM are changing the regulations. It's a good reg change, maybe not enough and it could be ammended for 2007. Could need some changes to the start line position at places like le mans.

i read something about qualifyers not long ago and how the head people .... whatever they're called are looking to limit the use of them .... just because of how good they've become ...

we've all looked at it before, the bridgestone guys are towards the bottom end of the scale during free prac and during the race ... but as soon as they whip out the weapon of the bridgey qualifyer, most bridgestones runners head to the top of the grid for qualifying ... more times than not resulting in riders that are slower off the mark, with slower bikes and such, being on front row.

the person that write the column i read seems to think that this is the cause of incidents of catalunya and first corner pile ups ...

hope i explained that right ...what does anyone here think of that?

In other word Bridgestone need to get a good race tyre, and fast!

That`s a good observation, Skid. I`m worried that this will give more oppourtuninity for unchallenged runaway wins like Loris at Brno.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (richo @ Aug 31 2006, 03:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>In other word Bridgestone need to get a good race tyre, and fast! They look like they have after Brno.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Katt @ Aug 31 2006, 02:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>i read something about qualifyers not long ago and how the head people .... whatever they're called are looking to limit the use of them .... just because of how good they've become ...

we've all looked at it before, the bridgestone guys are towards the bottom end of the scale during free prac and during the race ... but as soon as they whip out the weapon of the bridgey qualifyer, most bridgestones runners head to the top of the grid for qualifying ... more times than not resulting in riders that are slower off the mark, with slower bikes and such, being on front row.

the person that write the column i read seems to think that this is the cause of incidents of catalunya and first corner pile ups ...

hope i explained that right ...what does anyone here think of that?I think the qualifier will eventually be banned for that very reason Katt, stretching out the grid is only of limited use in terms of safety if the grid positions are down to one manufacturer having a knack for making an excellent qualifying tyre and not a true reflection of what pace a rider can actually race at.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (richo @ Aug 31 2006, 03:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>That`s a good observation, Skid. I`m worried that this will give more oppourtuninity for unchallenged runaway wins like Loris at Brno.I don't think it'll have that much of an effect on the outcome of a race Richo, it'll spread guys out just a little bit for the first couple of turns, at least thats the idea in theory. I do think Katt's point on the FIM wanting to put less emphasis on qualifying tyres is the issue worth watching. It would make things more exciting knowing that the grid positions were all based on times with a race tyre and the tyre companies would welcome it I'm sure.

hmmm..... ban qualifyers. that could be a good thing. but then again think about all the surprising looking grids weve had this season. that would surely go. it might start gettin predictable. removing the unpredictability of qualifyer's reducing the entertainment value of the qualifying sessions. of course that might not be the case. if the bridgestone runners could do at least a coulple of fast laps a session with a soft race tire. that could & most probably would be highly entertaining.

Yeah, the general strategy for Bridgestone riders to get podiums seems to be to use the QP tyre to get a good start, then try and hold the pace with the Michelin guys while conserving the inferioir rubber so it lasts race distance, You don`t often see bridgestone bikes moving up through the pack in dry weather, it tends to be the other way around, and Capirossi`s runaway win at Brno is definately not signature bridgestone, although I hope it`s signalled the dawn of a new age that could see Bridgestone closer to Michelin`s level, which would, in turn help Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Ducatis that aren`t being ridden by Capirossi become more competitive