Qatar test.

JPSLotus said:

I agree with you that it's unlikely anyone else could have won the title on the GP7. Loris Capirossi who rode so well with the 990 GP6, could not replicate his 2006 season at all. He did take the win in the wet at Motegi, but he looked thoroughly lost most of the season on that bike and only pulled together a couple of good rides.

Hopkins is an interesting one. I think he would have made a better number 2 to Stoner than Capirossi, but how much better I can't really guess at. Very talented rider who I would have liked to have seen get a chance on a better bike. I always felt he came into GP at the absolute wrong time and for the wrong team...and then the Kawasaki move just killed him.

The one hypothetical that's fun to mull about is what if somehow Ducati could have fielded their 2008 lineup in 2007? I would have liked to have seen Melandri on the GP7 to see if he would have handled that bike any better than he did the GP8.

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michaelm said:

He rode it in the post-season test, and was immediately despondent after the first lap, and didn't get within 2 seconds of Stoner in that test.

Marco was very equipment dependent, I don't think he was much good on a Yamaha either.

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New or very adaptable riders were able to make themselves open the throttle at full cornering lean angle. Working the tire in this way, Casey Stoner could get his tires working quickly and keep them hot enough to grip. Others were less fortunate. At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2008, Edwards found himself all the way at the soft end of Michelin’s range with no place to go. He could get the tire to 115 degrees Centigrade but it needed 130-135 C to work. He reduced pressure, hoping increased flex would heat it up. Nothing. He tried overinflating. Again, nothing.

When I asked Pirelli race engineer Giorgio Barbier why riders like Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri were having to leave MotoGP, he said he believed these men were unable to make themselves go against everything in their experience and use more throttle at full lean. But without working the tire that way, effective operational temperature could not be reached. Without grip, racing was impossible. Off to World Superbike, where the older style can still work.

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JPSLotus said:

Thanks...completely blanked on that postseason test...old age setting in I suppose.

In fairness to Melandri, I think most guys out there are equipment dependent. It's the select few like Stoner or Mike Hailwood who can ride anything you put underneath them.

There was an article on Cycleworld a couple of years ago that talked about tires that I was able to find. Good read and actually touches on Marco Melandri, and one engineer's opinion as to why he couldn't last in GP.

MotoGP Racing Technology: The Science of Tire Heat and Rider Skill | Cycle World

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michaelm said:

What has emerged since, with Marco Melandri among those who provided the proof, is that the bike was more towards being extraordinarily difficult to ride rather than being "the bike that rode itself" as many claimed at the time.

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