Qatar 2014 Practice and Qualifying
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Aleix Espargaro setting a time a second faster than the first factory bike. Those soft tires must really be something special. I bet he gets on pole. And proceeds to go backwards during the race.
Joined Apr 2011
636 Posts | 26+
Gold Coast
id like to think that, but thats a big margin to make up, as the open guys will still improve a little as the weekend goes on. say esp gains another half a second, that means jl, vr, dp and mm need to find another 1.5 -2 seconds a lap just to get back in the ballpark and restore the natural order of things.
Joined Oct 2011
351 Posts | 25+
Europe
it's not only data gathering through testing, or lack thereof, but also a tyre thing. Aleix said that the very soft tyre wouldn't last race distance in Qatar (although it did so in Sepang). so we should exclude the times set on the super softs when thinking about the race. open bikes, and aleix surely (he did a top speed of 346 kph, btw, fastest of all) will have to be reckoned with. but on medium tyres (which both factory and open bikes are allowed to use) the margin is less than a second, which is ok given prior testing vs. no prior testing on that circuit. factory teams have much more potential of improvement than open teams, and will surely find it. then tyre durability will play a big role for sure. I predict that the race will be won by the factory rider who can make the super hard tyre work best.
Joined Feb 2007
11K Posts | 2K+
Tennessee
sewarion
The Open class riders have been handed what could almost by todays standards be a qualifying tire. This is going to put riders up front of the grid who dont have the experience to be there and will cause carnage. The championship could very well be decided on which title contender gets taken out by one of these riders. It will stir things up for sure in the first 6-7 laps. You will have Marquez, Lorenzo, Pedrossa, and Rossi, desperate to cut through the traffic to get clear. If one gets clear for a couple of laps and the others get hung up, the race will be decided in the first few laps. Passing skill and balls will rule the day. That will work against Pedrosa, and play right into Lorenzo's hand if he is getting the same type starts as last year. Marquez had better up his game on the line or he might find himself losing touch with Lorenzo while he carves his way through the pack after losing a couple of spots like he normally does . Turn one will see a lot of action this year, a lot of it bad.
The Open class riders have been handed what could almost by todays standards be a qualifying tire. This is going to put riders up front of the grid who dont have the experience to be there and will cause carnage. The championship could very well be decided on which title contender gets taken out by one of these riders. It will stir things up for sure in the first 6-7 laps. You will have Marquez, Lorenzo, Pedrossa, and Rossi, desperate to cut through the traffic to get clear. If one gets clear for a couple of laps and the others get hung up, the race will be decided in the first few laps. Passing skill and balls will rule the day. That will work against Pedrosa, and play right into Lorenzo's hand if he is getting the same type starts as last year. Marquez had better up his game on the line or he might find himself losing touch with Lorenzo while he carves his way through the pack after losing a couple of spots like he normally does . Turn one will see a lot of action this year, a lot of it bad.
Why does Motogp force all manufactures to use the same tires? Riders should be able to use whatever tires they want. It would promote other tire manufactures to spend more on R&D.
Just from my experience on bikes, I would never chose Bridgestone over some of the other brands available.
Just from my experience on bikes, I would never chose Bridgestone over some of the other brands available.
povol
I seriously doubt this happens, it's day one on a notoriously dirty Qatar track that has had sand on it every year since they've been allowed to open the season. The open bikes are going to be like Ducati and put up quick times on day one, but see small improvements through practice to qualifying because of their soft tires. Those sophisticated factory electronics don't get on well with a dirty track.
I seriously doubt this happens, it's day one on a notoriously dirty Qatar track that has had sand on it every year since they've been allowed to open the season. The open bikes are going to be like Ducati and put up quick times on day one, but see small improvements through practice to qualifying because of their soft tires. Those sophisticated factory electronics don't get on well with a dirty track.
Joined Feb 2007
11K Posts | 2K+
Tennessee
hawkdriver
The big difference being the Ducati would start 6-7 tenths down, and end up 1.2 to 1.5 seconds down. A Espargaro is starting out 1.1 seconds up on the nearest Factory bike. Will they cut the gap, sure, but probably not enough to keep him off the front row. Will be interesting to see what Ducati does with the softs when they go for a hot lap with them.
The big difference being the Ducati would start 6-7 tenths down, and end up 1.2 to 1.5 seconds down. A Espargaro is starting out 1.1 seconds up on the nearest Factory bike. Will they cut the gap, sure, but probably not enough to keep him off the front row. Will be interesting to see what Ducati does with the softs when they go for a hot lap with them.
Joined Feb 2007
11K Posts | 2K+
Tennessee
elitemafia
Given the bikes outright performance [ Yamaha handling and now Yamaha trap speed ] nothing is impossible. There would have to be an event or series of events similar to Assen last year and he could slide right in there for an unsuspected win.
Given the bikes outright performance [ Yamaha handling and now Yamaha trap speed ] nothing is impossible. There would have to be an event or series of events similar to Assen last year and he could slide right in there for an unsuspected win.
Joined Aug 2013
342 Posts | 1+
Louisiana, USA
My only question is how that soft rear tire will handle full race distance. But it would be amazing (although unlikely) if Aleix winds up as top Yamaha.
It seems the Ducati, Honda and Yamaha riders are still not keen on the new 2014 tyre with reinforced heat protection layer.
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