Sepang Malaysia Test Thread

[Kropotkin]

Can't they just agree that it doesn't work and put it in the bin?

No, because then they have to start from zero. They have a shitload of data from the GP10 and its previous incarnations, which the GP11 they are testing is just a version of. If they threw it all away and started with the new flexi stuff, making direct comparisons would be much, much harder.

 

[2 wheeled panzer commander]

just looked on moto.com and there are soime intresating statistics on consistancy. but to me it just looks like they are trying to make the test look a lot tighter than it actuly was...link http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/Sepang+final+day+lap+analysis



Below is the complete list of the average lap times from each rider’s longest run, with the lap total of the stint their time was calculated from in brackets.



Casey Stoner, 2’01.286 (14 laps)

Ben Spies, 02’01.472 (5 laps)

Dani Pedrosa, 02’01.683 (10 laps)

Valentino Rossi, 02’01.739 (6 laps)

Jorge Lorenzo, 02’02.000 (19 laps)

Colin Edwards, 02’02.142 (3 laps)

Andrea Dovizioso, 02’02.153 (15 laps)

Loris Capirossi, 02’02.548 (5 laps)

Marco Simoncelli, 02’02.551 (20 laps)

Nicky Hayden, 02’02.600 (9 laps)

Hiroshi Aoyama, 02’02.687 (5 laps)

Cal Crutchlow, 02’02.830 (3 laps)

Karel Abraham, 02’02.914 (3 laps)

Randy De Puniet, 02’03.092 (12 laps)

Toni Elías, 02’03.132 (3 laps)

Álvaro Bautista, 02’03.400 (7 laps)

Héctor Barberá, 02’03.521 (4 laps)



but it still puts VR over 20 laps nearly 10 seconds behind

 

[J4rn0]

So you think Stoner would be sitting at or outside the top 10 on the Ducati? No chance I think.

Maybe Stoner in these tests would have made it to the top ten on a Ducati, but hardly the top 5 (or 6) which would have been the 4 factory Hondas (for sure) + the 2 factory Yamahas (most probably). Let's say, 7th?

I think Casey really made a good timely decision to go to Honda -- it's quite evident now. With four Hondas up there, in that way, and Yamaha very strong anyway, it's hard times for the Ducati riders -- it would have been hard also for Casey.

 

[mountainmile]

Just spotted this thread and remember reading an MCN article about a trick new seamless shift system for motorcycles. Having a quick look at the Zeroshift.com website, some guy called Richard Thompson designed it but the article is pretty coy about which customers they maybe working with back then.

Nice... But that was in fact hearsay, as opposed to credible information. Absolutely nobody in Italy has suggested that Honda might be breaking the rules, as is evident also from this comment by GpOne on the original article:



"[font="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif"]An internet dispute has broken out over an article on website Sportmediaset, which suggests that a DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) is being used by Honda to improve the performance of their RC212V.[/font][font="Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif"]The article makes reference to a bike being produced by the Japanese manufacturer, saying,"Since they have a production bike with a Dual Clutch Transmission, nearly identical to the automotive version being used by Audi and Porsche, logically we can imagine that this technology has transferred over to their race bikes."



This could be an interesting theory, except for the fact that DCT technology is forbidden under MotoGP regulations.



To find out more, we spoke with the author of the article, Alberto Porta, who defended his information.



"It seems as though Honda has introduced a new type of clutch which benefits from the knowledge gained with the DCT, but which also conforms to the rules."



This would mean a completely new design/technology which offers the same advantages as the outlawed system, but does so in a less complex fashion. True or false? It will be the competition who renders a swift verdict."



[/font]

 

[Jumkie]

So you think Stoner would be sitting at or outside the top 10 on the Ducati? No chance I think.

Of course, infact hed b further back, cuz Rossi is a better rider. Isnt that what wev heard for several years?



The Ducai had gone forward in development last two years, cuz Stoner is a .... developer.



When the rumor had hit that Rossi mite move to Duc, the only thing i prayed for was that theyd ship Hayden off to Yamaha. It would hav been a dream, Nicky at Yamaha and Rossi as Stoner's teammate. Can u imagine?



Remember when we would imagine if Stoner and Rossi could run same bike? Well we hav seen it, and we now know certainly what is what. No doubt, if Stoner rode Ducati tomorrow, even after the back has been "improved" by Rossi/ Burgess (haha), Casey would be top 3 if not 1st.

 

[gui22a]

Crap, I was considering buying a new 50" TV to watch the fing Ducati & Rossi, and all we had is this...

For the sake of fun, I hope Rossi can ride this bike. Btw, as soon as the world champ trophy is ready, Carmelo can ship it to Stoner's home.

 

[Talpa]

Funny thing, this time last year and the year before- it was all Stoner got it sewn up this, Stoner gonna kill em that- not only from the Boners. As with any premature ejaculation it comes from a lack of stimulation, which Stoner fans know all to well

......I was one of the few who predicted Jorge's strength, MickM has summed it up well and your all tempting fate. For as we know CS held onto the duck consistently quick in tests before as well, come race day-all new pressure and he cracks-regularly.......as was with the last time he rode a Honda, these cracks have cost him titles recently and I will predict the same for this year, compounding this is something very new for CS......the massive speed of his teammates.



Once again, this is testing, and a lot of people aren't happy, which means a lot of work will be done between now and Qatar, and the results will be different there for sure. I don't think Spies and Jorge are going to roll over with Yamaha and give Honda the crown, it doesn't seem in their nature....the reigning champ will especially be making a lot of noise, with Dovi and Sic running nearly a second quicker than him...... to what avail will be interesting, if he has, as some say the same clout as VR there then he may be able to change the triple tuning forks customary ideals.



And we know Rossi, JB and Co will be flat out because they current have the most to lose, and the most to gain-by a margin.

 

[Lebowski]

"Once again, this is testing, and a lot of people aren't happy, which means a lot of work will be done between now and Qatar, and the results will be different there for sure."





Stoner will be fastest. Rossi will not break into the top 5. Wager Talps?

 

[Psychic Potato]

Does anybody know who T1 and T2 were in the Yamaha Test Team? Not that I particularly care, given their weak times, I just find it odd that they would withhold their names in the reports.



I'm pleasantly surprised to see Simoncelli heading the timesheets, look forward to seeing how he contends this year. Have to say that the Honda trio's looking to be quite a force however, they'll clearly be looking to take the thunder back from Yamaha after their dominant 2010 campaign. If I see anything like the Rossi/Lorenzo rivalry develop this year it'll make for some canny viewing. I won't go out on a limb or anything yet, however, there's work to be done prior to the opening race which will properly set the line for an initial review of performance. Jor and Spies are too good the racers to be ruled out at such an early stage, I'm hoping to see some tussles between these two in the coming races.

 

[Jumkie]

Ah talps, u r dense. Uv now seen several days of Rossi on Duc look like ..... Now that u guys hav run out of excuses, u again turn to .... Stoner. Hav u considered that the only way he could win on Duc was to ride to edge of limit, why still being human, actually crossed it? Now wher is divine Rossi? The person u worship as being able to ride around problems, a super human developer, and legend has suddenly looked ordinary. Even .... rider nicky matched his time.



Anybody still wamna hold on to the falacy that he won all those titles on his own accord?



1.superior tires (sat nite special)

2.best bike, team, etc

3. Dorna in back pocket

4.above average rider (but certainly NOT the legend Dorna created for it ignorant and weak minded inclined to follow cult figures which tranalated into sheep viewers.)



All added up to titles.



B happy Talps that Stoner wasnt on Honda or Yamaha last 4 years.

 

[BarryMachine]

Casey Stoner, 2’01.286 (14 laps)

Ben Spies, 02’01.472 (5 laps)

Dani Pedrosa, 02’01.683 (10 laps)

Valentino Rossi, 02’01.739 (6 laps)

Jorge Lorenzo, 02’02.000 (19 laps)

Colin Edwards, 02’02.142 (3 laps)

Andrea Dovizioso, 02’02.153 (15 laps)

Loris Capirossi, 02’02.548 (5 laps)

Marco Simoncelli, 02’02.551 (20 laps)

Nicky Hayden, 02’02.600 (9 laps)

Hiroshi Aoyama, 02’02.687 (5 laps)

Cal Crutchlow, 02’02.830 (3 laps)

Karel Abraham, 02’02.914 (3 laps)

Randy De Puniet, 02’03.092 (12 laps)

Toni Elías, 02’03.132 (3 laps)

Álvaro Bautista, 02’03.400 (7 laps)

Héctor Barberá, 02’03.521 (4 laps)



but it still puts VR over 20 laps nearly 10 seconds behind

And this is closer to the what we may see at Qatar than just one off laps. Though I would suspect that any such "runs" with less than 10 laps would be somewhat dubious.



So in reality ....... where's all the Honda domination?



Its just that Stoner makes the timesheets look weighted.



If he was still At Ducati, he would probably still be up top, it flies in the face of what was reality to deny something that was part of the last 3/4 years, just to soften the blow of Rossi's performance.

 

[michaelm]

Funny thing, this time last year and the year before- it was all Stoner got it sewn up this, Stoner gonna kill em that- not only from the Boners. As with any premature ejaculation it comes from a lack of stimulation, which Stoner fans know all to well

......I was one of the few who predicted Jorge's strength, MickM has summed it up well and your all tempting fate. For as we know CS held onto the duck consistently quick in tests before as well, come race day-all new pressure and he cracks-regularly.......as was with the last time he rode a Honda, these cracks have cost him titles recently and I will predict the same for this year, compounding this is something very new for CS......the massive speed of his teammates.

Rossi was actually mostly the fastest in testing prior to the 2010 season, and I don't think testing prior to the 2008 season was misleading either, with stoner/ducati beaten by possibly rossi's best ever season of riding with some contribution from early season woes due to a problem with the initial 2008 engine, the latter hard to attribute to stoner. Arguably that makes only testing prior to the 2009 season a false guide, and that season was affected by stoner's health issues as was 2010 for valentino. Whilst valentino being 10th or worse during practice has been shown not to impede him on more than a few occasions, I don't recall him or anyone else winning a championship having consistently been this far down in testing, although there is still testing to come of course. If anyone can retrieve the situation it is valentino though, but I tend to agree with majority opinion that it will take him till mid season to really sort things.



Whilst I don't agree with jumkie on all matters, surely valentino has now confirmed that there are problems with the ducati design and that the thing may be inherently unstable, and that riding it at a potentially winning pace involves risk and crashes which may not be due to riding errors or susceptibility to pressure. What has been consistent over stoner's career and not just at ducati is that he will try to win more or less regardless of whether his bike is capable of doing so. Whether it would have been sensible for him to have settled for consistent lower placings in some seasons depends on your point of view; it would certainly have been cheaper for the owners of his teams, but his going for the win and scorning easier placings is one of the reasons I follow him, and is an approach similar to valentino's over much of his career.



What casey has shown when he did have a good enough bike is the ability to ride essentially flawlessly for an entire season, something rossi has done several times obviously, and lorenzo did last season. If the honda is as good as it looks, and he has good early season results and gets on a roll he will be very hard to stop. If he is to win I would prefer him to do it against a competitive rossi though, one reason among several that I am not death riding valentino at the moment. I definitely agree with you that anyone who writes off yamaha and especially the guy defending a championship he won in dominant fashion is quite unwise. I may be proven wrong but I do think stoner will have the measure of his honda competition.

 

[michaelm]

Certainly Lorenzo will not agree to graciously oblige Honda, even if it may be right according to samurai etiquette!

I can't recall off-hand honda ever displaying similar charity towards yamaha, so this may be shorthand/face-saving for we suffered badly from the gfc and don't have a major sponsor, so we are not going to spend too much money on bike development for the last year of the 800 formula.

 

[jazkat]

hmmm i have been thinking..... teams can use whatever they want in tests as there is no scrutineering, so i am wondering that come closer to racetime will honda be allowed to use there new trickery?



wasnt yamaha not alowed to use there (DFI) direct fuel injection system?



KROP?

 

[BarryMachine]

hmmm i have been thinking..... teams can use whatever they want in tests as there is no scrutineering, so i am wondering that come closer to racetime will honda be allowed to use there new trickery?



wasnt yamaha not alowed to use there (DFI) direct fuel injection system?



KROP?

I was also thinking the same about Ducati ...... they have done everthing to get Rossi up to the speed he is at, is it all legit?

God you are clutching at straws already this year and its only testing ......... its going to be just like 07 all over again with you isn't it

I strongly suspect you have actually not been thinking, and won't be for some time to come

 

[jazkat]

I was also thinking the same about Ducati ...... they have done everthing to get Rossi up to the speed he is at, is it all legit?

God you are clutching at straws already this year and its only testing ......... its going to be just like 07 all over again with you isn't it

I strongly suspect you have actually not been thinking, and won't be for some time to come

firstly your a ....!



secondly my question has nothing to do with stoner or rossi or to do with hondas electronics tweak for improved engine breaking but the transmission.



it was from an interview i was reading with dovi..... and its a genuine question, i wasnt saying i want it banned im asking if it could be so dont be an ......



the only thing that will be the same as 2007 is you will be posting bollox again cos the last 3 season's you have spent having widthdrawl symptoms in your toybox.

 

[dwoodhouse]

With BarryMachine and Scotty in full steam, it's going to be a long season.

 

[jazkat]

With BarryMachine and Scotty in full steam, it's going to be a long season.

ahhh i dont mind man, if its there guys season thats cool by me as long as (back it in barry) dont start talking ....!

 

[J4rn0]

Of course, infact hed b further back, cuz Rossi is a better rider. Isnt that what wev heard for several years?



The Ducai had gone forward in development last two years, cuz Stoner is a .... developer.



When the rumor had hit that Rossi mite move to Duc, the only thing i prayed for was that theyd ship Hayden off to Yamaha. It would hav been a dream, Nicky at Yamaha and Rossi as Stoner's teammate. Can u imagine?



Remember when we would imagine if Stoner and Rossi could run same bike? Well we hav seen it, and we now know certainly what is what. No doubt, if Stoner rode Ducati tomorrow, even after the back has been "improved" by Rossi/ Burgess (haha), Casey would be top 3 if not 1st.

What BS.

Both Hayden and Rossi have lapped faster in these tests than Stoner did in QP in October 2010. What makes you think that Stoner would have magically improved his best lap time of five months ago by almost 2 seconds, to match or beat the newfound speed of the 2011 Hondas, on a Ducati? Conversely, do you really think that Rossi on a Honda wouldn't be at least as fast as Simoncelli ? Get real Jum...

Any interpretation of these tests that ignores the manifest superiority of the 2011 Hondas is so ridiculous... but the Rossi bashers do not fear ridicule, do they.

 

[J4rn0]

I can't recall off-hand honda ever displaying similar charity towards yamaha, so this may be shorthand/face-saving for we suffered badly from the gfc and don't have a major sponsor, so we are not going to spend too much money on bike development for the last year of the 800 formula.

Good point. Let's get ready for Lorenzo complaining about lack of power for the rest of the season...

No complains from Spies though, May he actually be the best Yamaha rider in 2011?