Am I right in seeing a difference in body position. No "elbow down" for Stoner? The guys have got there head and shoulders a lot more outboard in the last few years, be interesting to see if he adapts his style.
Joined Jul 2015
812 Posts | 336+
Hurricane, WV
Nice shot of Stoner & Redding
Rossi
Looks like Redding is checking out Stoners ......
Joined Feb 2007
11K Posts | 2K+
Tennessee
I have been showing pictures from that corner to non racing fan friends of mine for years and they still don't get it. After I explain the trajectory of the bike in relation to the corner and how they are two wheel drifting on pavement at 120+ mph it finally sinks in to what these guys are doing.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Interestingly - Stoner said in an interview that the current fairing was amazingly effective. When tucked in he experienced no turbulence at all. Nathan's he's taking advantage of that.
Yeh, I don't think so. There's been a big difference in body position since the last time he raced and his is still the same, so I don't think he's changed that.
I have to say though, the new style looks awkward when you see it contrasted like that. It would be interesting to see him next to Lorenzo though , nothing awkward about him.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Elbow touching the ground = crowd pleaser; looks too cool
Elbow tucked in = less wind buffeting + less wind resistance. In my mind - it says, "I'm confident; don't need no steenking elbow down to know my lean angle.
Look at that last picture of Rossi with his leg dangling. Does that look not-awkward? Objectively - it looks like he's afraid he's going to fall. Styles change. Don't be surprised if "elbow in" becomes the new "foot down".
I think there has always been a difference between Stoner & the rest. To me, most guys use there body weight to turn the bike by getting as much weight off the inside of the bike as they can, essentially dragging the bike around the turn with their body weight. This works fine, but they cannot accelerate until the bike is past the apex.
Stoner on the other hand stays tucked on the bike & uses the throttle to turn. By doing this he can get on the gas much sooner and slide the bike through the apex. This is what makes him spectacular to watch and as quick as he is. It is a skill he has picked up riding the dirt & oil tracks as a kid and transfers very well to road racing and another reason why Aussies go well in the wet.
It always seemed to me like he had a different rhythm going into the corner as well, the other guys would get the bike leaning and transfer their weight at the same time, but Stoner would change his position very early.
Yes, I agree, Stoner looks more compact and more integrated with the machine. I think the elbow and knee together looks right for Lorenzo and MM. You always see like two v's point to point from his leg and his arm and it looks very poised (like this: ><). But the elbow is the end result of the position of the arse and the head and shoulders. If you look at some old Doohan footage you will see how he got his arse across but his head was still inside the handlebars, his spine was pointing in toward the bike. Over the years they gradually got their spines more an more parallel with the bike by getting their heads and shoulders across as well. This continued to evolve after Stoner retired, but maybe they got carried away with it. I'll be really interested to see more footage of Stoner on track with the other guys.
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Joined Jan 2011
3K Posts | 152+
The North!
Joined Oct 2006
25K Posts | 4K+
Your Mom's House
Now this IS a great commercial for the airbag leathers.Telemetry from Loris Baz crash...measured at 29.9G's maximum.
Joined Apr 2015
6K Posts | 5K+
NJ
I can't even imagine what it must feel like to land on your shoulder with that much force. The airbags were probably the single greatest advancement for rider safety thankfully. I wonder if having them would have saved Wayne Rainey from his injury, or if that was a foregone conclusion regardless.
Imagine sliding down the track at 180MPH?
.... that.
Imagine sliding down the track at 180MPH?
.... that.
