<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AlexdeAngelis-Fan @ Mar 11 2008, 11:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>maybe Stoner is a better rider then everyone says and think
so what wrong with the other ducati's???
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I thought it worth reposting an interview with Alex Barros from the end of last year. I know it was translated from Portuguese but i'm struggling to remember the source, I'll work on it.
Q: Your Ducati, when compared to the ones in the official team, is it too different?
AB: The bike is the same, but the teams are a different deal. All I have to tell you is that I didn't have a suspension technician. Throughout the season, I suffered with the lack of setup. I can't understand how a MotoGP team wouldn't have such a tech. Since the beginning of the year I've asked for this and Luis D'Antin, the team owner, has just blown me off. It's stupid. I don't, honestly, think that I could always beat Stoner. The kid is very fast and no one could have taken this title from him, but in the preseason tests I was always very close to him, and sometimes even in front of him. But as the races passed, his bike was getting set up better, while mine wasn't. Another thing that was absurd was that I didn't have a spare suspension. Can you imagine a MotoGP team not having a spare front! It doesn't exist. I had two complete bikes and that was that. If I wanted to play around with a setting, I'd have to strip one of the bikes. That just can't be. The comparison to see what is best has to be on the same bike.
Q: So the team was a total let down?
AB: I don't like to judge anyone, nor being ungrateful, ut Pramac D'Antin was a team that no one wanted to go to, and by the end of the current season, there's been a queue of people wanting to ride for them. I believe part of that is due to my efforts in getting results, even without having the best conditions to do so. The bike is good, but at the current level of MotoGP, the team of technicians around you makes the difference. I lacked a suspensions guy, aside from spare suspensions.
Q: You had a contract that was good for 2008 as well, is that right?
AB: Yes, but Paolo Campinotti, Pramac owner, called me and said that, in a meeting with the Ducati Corse bosses, big boss Claudio Domenicali asked that the situation that happened in the Italian GP, when I passed Stoner at the end of the race and was 3rd, never repeat itself. In other words, I'd have to subject myself to always coming in behind the factory riders, and that I just can't accept. If the championship had been in a crucial phase, so be it, but that was the sixth GP in a season of 18! The commitment they wanted me to agree to isn't right, in my point of view, and hence my leaving. In fact, there's people at Ducati in my favor, the people in the commercial department, that believe that with me on board, sales in Brazil would improve. But it seems that Domenicali's wishes prevailed...
Q: Many people in the paddock say that since you beat Stoner in that race, your bike hasn't been the same. Is this true?
AB: I don't know. In the motor, power, aspect our bikes are the same as the ones in the factory team. The problem is that which was I talking about, suspension setup. However, there's the fact that Stoner's bike has never broken down during a race, and I was left on foot at Misano and Estoril. In the last race, at Motegi, I only finished the race because of the bike switch, due to the rain. If I had gone on with the same bike since the start, the bike wouldn't have lasted. We only learned about that later.
Q: What about the tyres? They say that Ducati asked Bridgestone not to supply you with the same stuff with the good stuff...
AB: I don't believe in that. The tyres are the same.
Q: This year, you've had bad practice sessions and great races. Why is that?
AB: The problem is the bike's setup. At the beginning of the year, everyone starts with stuff that needs tweaking. While other bikes evolved in the setup department, ours didn't. As each race passed, the difference from our bike to the others got bigger. Another problem was that Michelin's qualifying tyres were better than the Bridgestone ones, in general. In the race, the situation was the opposite. Many times I would only find good balance with my bike during warm-up, just before the race. And starting from the back, either you're lucky and get to pass many people on the first lap, or you're stuck back there, battling, while the front guys get away. In many races, my lap times were the same as those of podium-finishing riders, so that if I had't started from the back, I would be amongst the top guys.
Q: The Ducati is a very different bike when compared to the japanese ones, isn't it?
AB: Yeah. Its highlight is the engine's power. The chassis demands a certain strength when trying to get it into the corners. Look at my hand. These calluses are Ducati (laughs). But I think the main advantage Ducati had this season were the eletronics. The Magneti Marelli system is the most evolved of all. I can't talk much about it, but no other brand has a management system that is as good. The traction control isn't like those of other bikes, where the setup is unique for each track. Ours changes according to the way each person rides the bike, the parameters are different for each corner, individually, and this advantage was key in order for Ducati to be in front and win the title. But that doesn't take anything away from Stoner, who rode harder than anyone.
------------------------------------
So you could say that the other riders don't have the means to get a set-up, if you were that way inclined.
Q: Your Ducati, when compared to the ones in the official team, is it too different?
AB: The bike is the same, but the teams are a different deal. All I have to tell you is that I didn't have a suspension technician. Throughout the season, I suffered with the lack of setup. I can't understand how a MotoGP team wouldn't have such a tech. Since the beginning of the year I've asked for this and Luis D'Antin, the team owner, has just blown me off. It's stupid. I don't, honestly, think that I could always beat Stoner. The kid is very fast and no one could have taken this title from him, but in the preseason tests I was always very close to him, and sometimes even in front of him. But as the races passed, his bike was getting set up better, while mine wasn't. Another thing that was absurd was that I didn't have a spare suspension. Can you imagine a MotoGP team not having a spare front! It doesn't exist. I had two complete bikes and that was that. If I wanted to play around with a setting, I'd have to strip one of the bikes. That just can't be. The comparison to see what is best has to be on the same bike.
Q: So the team was a total let down?
AB: I don't like to judge anyone, nor being ungrateful, ut Pramac D'Antin was a team that no one wanted to go to, and by the end of the current season, there's been a queue of people wanting to ride for them. I believe part of that is due to my efforts in getting results, even without having the best conditions to do so. The bike is good, but at the current level of MotoGP, the team of technicians around you makes the difference. I lacked a suspensions guy, aside from spare suspensions.
Q: You had a contract that was good for 2008 as well, is that right?
AB: Yes, but Paolo Campinotti, Pramac owner, called me and said that, in a meeting with the Ducati Corse bosses, big boss Claudio Domenicali asked that the situation that happened in the Italian GP, when I passed Stoner at the end of the race and was 3rd, never repeat itself. In other words, I'd have to subject myself to always coming in behind the factory riders, and that I just can't accept. If the championship had been in a crucial phase, so be it, but that was the sixth GP in a season of 18! The commitment they wanted me to agree to isn't right, in my point of view, and hence my leaving. In fact, there's people at Ducati in my favor, the people in the commercial department, that believe that with me on board, sales in Brazil would improve. But it seems that Domenicali's wishes prevailed...
Q: Many people in the paddock say that since you beat Stoner in that race, your bike hasn't been the same. Is this true?
AB: I don't know. In the motor, power, aspect our bikes are the same as the ones in the factory team. The problem is that which was I talking about, suspension setup. However, there's the fact that Stoner's bike has never broken down during a race, and I was left on foot at Misano and Estoril. In the last race, at Motegi, I only finished the race because of the bike switch, due to the rain. If I had gone on with the same bike since the start, the bike wouldn't have lasted. We only learned about that later.
Q: What about the tyres? They say that Ducati asked Bridgestone not to supply you with the same stuff with the good stuff...
AB: I don't believe in that. The tyres are the same.
Q: This year, you've had bad practice sessions and great races. Why is that?
AB: The problem is the bike's setup. At the beginning of the year, everyone starts with stuff that needs tweaking. While other bikes evolved in the setup department, ours didn't. As each race passed, the difference from our bike to the others got bigger. Another problem was that Michelin's qualifying tyres were better than the Bridgestone ones, in general. In the race, the situation was the opposite. Many times I would only find good balance with my bike during warm-up, just before the race. And starting from the back, either you're lucky and get to pass many people on the first lap, or you're stuck back there, battling, while the front guys get away. In many races, my lap times were the same as those of podium-finishing riders, so that if I had't started from the back, I would be amongst the top guys.
Q: The Ducati is a very different bike when compared to the japanese ones, isn't it?
AB: Yeah. Its highlight is the engine's power. The chassis demands a certain strength when trying to get it into the corners. Look at my hand. These calluses are Ducati (laughs). But I think the main advantage Ducati had this season were the eletronics. The Magneti Marelli system is the most evolved of all. I can't talk much about it, but no other brand has a management system that is as good. The traction control isn't like those of other bikes, where the setup is unique for each track. Ours changes according to the way each person rides the bike, the parameters are different for each corner, individually, and this advantage was key in order for Ducati to be in front and win the title. But that doesn't take anything away from Stoner, who rode harder than anyone.
------------------------------------
So you could say that the other riders don't have the means to get a set-up, if you were that way inclined.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Goatboy @ Mar 12 2008, 03:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I thought it worth reposting an interview with Alex Barros from the end of last year. I know it was translated from Portuguese but i'm struggling to remember the source, I'll work on it.
Q: Your Ducati, when compared to the ones in the official team, is it too different?
AB: The bike is the same, but the teams are a different deal. All I have to tell you is that I didn't have a suspension technician. Throughout the season, I suffered with the lack of setup. I can't understand how a MotoGP team wouldn't have such a tech. Since the beginning of the year I've asked for this and Luis D'Antin, the team owner, has just blown me off. It's stupid. I don't, honestly, think that I could always beat Stoner. The kid is very fast and no one could have taken this title from him, but in the preseason tests I was always very close to him, and sometimes even in front of him. But as the races passed, his bike was getting set up better, while mine wasn't. Another thing that was absurd was that I didn't have a spare suspension. Can you imagine a MotoGP team not having a spare front! It doesn't exist. I had two complete bikes and that was that. If I wanted to play around with a setting, I'd have to strip one of the bikes. That just can't be. The comparison to see what is best has to be on the same bike.
Q: So the team was a total let down?
AB: I don't like to judge anyone, nor being ungrateful, ut Pramac D'Antin was a team that no one wanted to go to, and by the end of the current season, there's been a queue of people wanting to ride for them. I believe part of that is due to my efforts in getting results, even without having the best conditions to do so. The bike is good, but at the current level of MotoGP, the team of technicians around you makes the difference. I lacked a suspensions guy, aside from spare suspensions.
Q: You had a contract that was good for 2008 as well, is that right?
AB: Yes, but Paolo Campinotti, Pramac owner, called me and said that, in a meeting with the Ducati Corse bosses, big boss Claudio Domenicali asked that the situation that happened in the Italian GP, when I passed Stoner at the end of the race and was 3rd, never repeat itself. In other words, I'd have to subject myself to always coming in behind the factory riders, and that I just can't accept. If the championship had been in a crucial phase, so be it, but that was the sixth GP in a season of 18! The commitment they wanted me to agree to isn't right, in my point of view, and hence my leaving. In fact, there's people at Ducati in my favor, the people in the commercial department, that believe that with me on board, sales in Brazil would improve. But it seems that Domenicali's wishes prevailed...
Q: Many people in the paddock say that since you beat Stoner in that race, your bike hasn't been the same. Is this true?
AB: I don't know. In the motor, power, aspect our bikes are the same as the ones in the factory team. The problem is that which was I talking about, suspension setup. However, there's the fact that Stoner's bike has never broken down during a race, and I was left on foot at Misano and Estoril. In the last race, at Motegi, I only finished the race because of the bike switch, due to the rain. If I had gone on with the same bike since the start, the bike wouldn't have lasted. We only learned about that later.
Q: What about the tyres? They say that Ducati asked Bridgestone not to supply you with the same stuff with the good stuff...
AB: I don't believe in that. The tyres are the same.
Q: This year, you've had bad practice sessions and great races. Why is that?
AB: The problem is the bike's setup. At the beginning of the year, everyone starts with stuff that needs tweaking. While other bikes evolved in the setup department, ours didn't. As each race passed, the difference from our bike to the others got bigger. Another problem was that Michelin's qualifying tyres were better than the Bridgestone ones, in general. In the race, the situation was the opposite. Many times I would only find good balance with my bike during warm-up, just before the race. And starting from the back, either you're lucky and get to pass many people on the first lap, or you're stuck back there, battling, while the front guys get away. In many races, my lap times were the same as those of podium-finishing riders, so that if I had't started from the back, I would be amongst the top guys.
Q: The Ducati is a very different bike when compared to the japanese ones, isn't it?
AB: Yeah. Its highlight is the engine's power. The chassis demands a certain strength when trying to get it into the corners. Look at my hand. These calluses are Ducati (laughs). But I think the main advantage Ducati had this season were the eletronics. The Magneti Marelli system is the most evolved of all. I can't talk much about it, but no other brand has a management system that is as good. The traction control isn't like those of other bikes, where the setup is unique for each track. Ours changes according to the way each person rides the bike, the parameters are different for each corner, individually, and this advantage was key in order for Ducati to be in front and win the title. But that doesn't take anything away from Stoner, who rode harder than anyone.
------------------------------------
So you could say that the other riders don't have the means to get a set-up, if you were that way inclined.
glad you re posted that mate, how short/selective some peeps memory's are
Q: Your Ducati, when compared to the ones in the official team, is it too different?
AB: The bike is the same, but the teams are a different deal. All I have to tell you is that I didn't have a suspension technician. Throughout the season, I suffered with the lack of setup. I can't understand how a MotoGP team wouldn't have such a tech. Since the beginning of the year I've asked for this and Luis D'Antin, the team owner, has just blown me off. It's stupid. I don't, honestly, think that I could always beat Stoner. The kid is very fast and no one could have taken this title from him, but in the preseason tests I was always very close to him, and sometimes even in front of him. But as the races passed, his bike was getting set up better, while mine wasn't. Another thing that was absurd was that I didn't have a spare suspension. Can you imagine a MotoGP team not having a spare front! It doesn't exist. I had two complete bikes and that was that. If I wanted to play around with a setting, I'd have to strip one of the bikes. That just can't be. The comparison to see what is best has to be on the same bike.
Q: So the team was a total let down?
AB: I don't like to judge anyone, nor being ungrateful, ut Pramac D'Antin was a team that no one wanted to go to, and by the end of the current season, there's been a queue of people wanting to ride for them. I believe part of that is due to my efforts in getting results, even without having the best conditions to do so. The bike is good, but at the current level of MotoGP, the team of technicians around you makes the difference. I lacked a suspensions guy, aside from spare suspensions.
Q: You had a contract that was good for 2008 as well, is that right?
AB: Yes, but Paolo Campinotti, Pramac owner, called me and said that, in a meeting with the Ducati Corse bosses, big boss Claudio Domenicali asked that the situation that happened in the Italian GP, when I passed Stoner at the end of the race and was 3rd, never repeat itself. In other words, I'd have to subject myself to always coming in behind the factory riders, and that I just can't accept. If the championship had been in a crucial phase, so be it, but that was the sixth GP in a season of 18! The commitment they wanted me to agree to isn't right, in my point of view, and hence my leaving. In fact, there's people at Ducati in my favor, the people in the commercial department, that believe that with me on board, sales in Brazil would improve. But it seems that Domenicali's wishes prevailed...
Q: Many people in the paddock say that since you beat Stoner in that race, your bike hasn't been the same. Is this true?
AB: I don't know. In the motor, power, aspect our bikes are the same as the ones in the factory team. The problem is that which was I talking about, suspension setup. However, there's the fact that Stoner's bike has never broken down during a race, and I was left on foot at Misano and Estoril. In the last race, at Motegi, I only finished the race because of the bike switch, due to the rain. If I had gone on with the same bike since the start, the bike wouldn't have lasted. We only learned about that later.
Q: What about the tyres? They say that Ducati asked Bridgestone not to supply you with the same stuff with the good stuff...
AB: I don't believe in that. The tyres are the same.
Q: This year, you've had bad practice sessions and great races. Why is that?
AB: The problem is the bike's setup. At the beginning of the year, everyone starts with stuff that needs tweaking. While other bikes evolved in the setup department, ours didn't. As each race passed, the difference from our bike to the others got bigger. Another problem was that Michelin's qualifying tyres were better than the Bridgestone ones, in general. In the race, the situation was the opposite. Many times I would only find good balance with my bike during warm-up, just before the race. And starting from the back, either you're lucky and get to pass many people on the first lap, or you're stuck back there, battling, while the front guys get away. In many races, my lap times were the same as those of podium-finishing riders, so that if I had't started from the back, I would be amongst the top guys.
Q: The Ducati is a very different bike when compared to the japanese ones, isn't it?
AB: Yeah. Its highlight is the engine's power. The chassis demands a certain strength when trying to get it into the corners. Look at my hand. These calluses are Ducati (laughs). But I think the main advantage Ducati had this season were the eletronics. The Magneti Marelli system is the most evolved of all. I can't talk much about it, but no other brand has a management system that is as good. The traction control isn't like those of other bikes, where the setup is unique for each track. Ours changes according to the way each person rides the bike, the parameters are different for each corner, individually, and this advantage was key in order for Ducati to be in front and win the title. But that doesn't take anything away from Stoner, who rode harder than anyone.
------------------------------------
So you could say that the other riders don't have the means to get a set-up, if you were that way inclined.
glad you re posted that mate, how short/selective some peeps memory's are
Thanks for the interview. Barros is, as always, candid and offfers good insight. This report, on the other hand, offers nothing.
Why is there only one quick Ducati?
Why is there only one quick Ducati?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (roger-m @ Mar 12 2008, 12:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>after the bollocking loris got last year for beating stoner i expect the other ducati riders are to scared to compete. or there bikes are de tuned so it doesnt happen again
I think Barros' Pramac Ducati going horsing past Stoner at Mugello probably made them have kittens....
Snorvey
I think Barros' Pramac Ducati going horsing past Stoner at Mugello probably made them have kittens....
Snorvey
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Snorvey @ Mar 14 2008, 05:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I think Barros' Pramac Ducati going horsing past Stoner at Mugello probably made them have kittens....
Snorvey
As someone said elsewhere it has to be admitted that ducati do have something of a history of often having one rider being much more successful than the other in factory teams in both motogp and wsbk. Reasons why this should be so elude me; ?limited resources in the past ?the culture of the team.
Snorvey
As someone said elsewhere it has to be admitted that ducati do have something of a history of often having one rider being much more successful than the other in factory teams in both motogp and wsbk. Reasons why this should be so elude me; ?limited resources in the past ?the culture of the team.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Goatboy @ Mar 12 2008, 03:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I thought it worth reposting an interview with Alex Barros from the end of last year. I know it was translated from Portuguese but i'm struggling to remember the source, I'll work on it.
Q: Your Ducati, when compared to the ones in the official team, is it too different?
AB: The bike is the same, but the teams are a different deal. All I have to tell you is that I didn't have a suspension technician. Throughout the season, I suffered with the lack of setup. I can't understand how a MotoGP team wouldn't have such a tech. Since the beginning of the year I've asked for this and Luis D'Antin, the team owner, has just blown me off. It's stupid. I don't, honestly, think that I could always beat Stoner. The kid is very fast and no one could have taken this title from him, but in the preseason tests I was always very close to him, and sometimes even in front of him. But as the races passed, his bike was getting set up better, while mine wasn't. Another thing that was absurd was that I didn't have a spare suspension. Can you imagine a MotoGP team not having a spare front! It doesn't exist. I had two complete bikes and that was that. If I wanted to play around with a setting, I'd have to strip one of the bikes. That just can't be. The comparison to see what is best has to be on the same bike.
Q: So the team was a total let down?
AB: I don't like to judge anyone, nor being ungrateful, ut Pramac D'Antin was a team that no one wanted to go to, and by the end of the current season, there's been a queue of people wanting to ride for them. I believe part of that is due to my efforts in getting results, even without having the best conditions to do so. The bike is good, but at the current level of MotoGP, the team of technicians around you makes the difference. I lacked a suspensions guy, aside from spare suspensions.
Q: You had a contract that was good for 2008 as well, is that right?
AB: Yes, but Paolo Campinotti, Pramac owner, called me and said that, in a meeting with the Ducati Corse bosses, big boss Claudio Domenicali asked that the situation that happened in the Italian GP, when I passed Stoner at the end of the race and was 3rd, never repeat itself. In other words, I'd have to subject myself to always coming in behind the factory riders, and that I just can't accept. If the championship had been in a crucial phase, so be it, but that was the sixth GP in a season of 18! The commitment they wanted me to agree to isn't right, in my point of view, and hence my leaving. In fact, there's people at Ducati in my favor, the people in the commercial department, that believe that with me on board, sales in Brazil would improve. But it seems that Domenicali's wishes prevailed...
Q: Many people in the paddock say that since you beat Stoner in that race, your bike hasn't been the same. Is this true?
AB: I don't know. In the motor, power, aspect our bikes are the same as the ones in the factory team. The problem is that which was I talking about, suspension setup. However, there's the fact that Stoner's bike has never broken down during a race, and I was left on foot at Misano and Estoril. In the last race, at Motegi, I only finished the race because of the bike switch, due to the rain. If I had gone on with the same bike since the start, the bike wouldn't have lasted. We only learned about that later.
Q: What about the tyres? They say that Ducati asked Bridgestone not to supply you with the same stuff with the good stuff...
AB: I don't believe in that. The tyres are the same.
Q: This year, you've had bad practice sessions and great races. Why is that?
AB: The problem is the bike's setup. At the beginning of the year, everyone starts with stuff that needs tweaking. While other bikes evolved in the setup department, ours didn't. As each race passed, the difference from our bike to the others got bigger. Another problem was that Michelin's qualifying tyres were better than the Bridgestone ones, in general. In the race, the situation was the opposite. Many times I would only find good balance with my bike during warm-up, just before the race. And starting from the back, either you're lucky and get to pass many people on the first lap, or you're stuck back there, battling, while the front guys get away. In many races, my lap times were the same as those of podium-finishing riders, so that if I had't started from the back, I would be amongst the top guys.
Q: The Ducati is a very different bike when compared to the japanese ones, isn't it?
AB: Yeah. Its highlight is the engine's power. The chassis demands a certain strength when trying to get it into the corners. Look at my hand. These calluses are Ducati (laughs). But I think the main advantage Ducati had this season were the eletronics. The Magneti Marelli system is the most evolved of all. I can't talk much about it, but no other brand has a management system that is as good. The traction control isn't like those of other bikes, where the setup is unique for each track. Ours changes according to the way each person rides the bike, the parameters are different for each corner, individually, and this advantage was key in order for Ducati to be in front and win the title. But that doesn't take anything away from Stoner, who rode harder than anyone.
------------------------------------
So you could say that the other riders don't have the means to get a set-up, if you were that way inclined.
I am wondering if this the same with Melandri. I just don't believe that the guy can't get his head around the bike. You can see that he is not riding confidently.
The tactic of one rider doing better than the other in Ducati is pretty much par for their culture. Ever wonder why Xaus hasn't gotten a factory ride since he nearly put the screws to Hodgeson his (hodgey) last season in WSBK?
Capirex was out when Gibbers joined the team.
Hmm. I am rethinking Hayden on a Satellite team. Not a good move Bro.
Q: Your Ducati, when compared to the ones in the official team, is it too different?
AB: The bike is the same, but the teams are a different deal. All I have to tell you is that I didn't have a suspension technician. Throughout the season, I suffered with the lack of setup. I can't understand how a MotoGP team wouldn't have such a tech. Since the beginning of the year I've asked for this and Luis D'Antin, the team owner, has just blown me off. It's stupid. I don't, honestly, think that I could always beat Stoner. The kid is very fast and no one could have taken this title from him, but in the preseason tests I was always very close to him, and sometimes even in front of him. But as the races passed, his bike was getting set up better, while mine wasn't. Another thing that was absurd was that I didn't have a spare suspension. Can you imagine a MotoGP team not having a spare front! It doesn't exist. I had two complete bikes and that was that. If I wanted to play around with a setting, I'd have to strip one of the bikes. That just can't be. The comparison to see what is best has to be on the same bike.
Q: So the team was a total let down?
AB: I don't like to judge anyone, nor being ungrateful, ut Pramac D'Antin was a team that no one wanted to go to, and by the end of the current season, there's been a queue of people wanting to ride for them. I believe part of that is due to my efforts in getting results, even without having the best conditions to do so. The bike is good, but at the current level of MotoGP, the team of technicians around you makes the difference. I lacked a suspensions guy, aside from spare suspensions.
Q: You had a contract that was good for 2008 as well, is that right?
AB: Yes, but Paolo Campinotti, Pramac owner, called me and said that, in a meeting with the Ducati Corse bosses, big boss Claudio Domenicali asked that the situation that happened in the Italian GP, when I passed Stoner at the end of the race and was 3rd, never repeat itself. In other words, I'd have to subject myself to always coming in behind the factory riders, and that I just can't accept. If the championship had been in a crucial phase, so be it, but that was the sixth GP in a season of 18! The commitment they wanted me to agree to isn't right, in my point of view, and hence my leaving. In fact, there's people at Ducati in my favor, the people in the commercial department, that believe that with me on board, sales in Brazil would improve. But it seems that Domenicali's wishes prevailed...
Q: Many people in the paddock say that since you beat Stoner in that race, your bike hasn't been the same. Is this true?
AB: I don't know. In the motor, power, aspect our bikes are the same as the ones in the factory team. The problem is that which was I talking about, suspension setup. However, there's the fact that Stoner's bike has never broken down during a race, and I was left on foot at Misano and Estoril. In the last race, at Motegi, I only finished the race because of the bike switch, due to the rain. If I had gone on with the same bike since the start, the bike wouldn't have lasted. We only learned about that later.
Q: What about the tyres? They say that Ducati asked Bridgestone not to supply you with the same stuff with the good stuff...
AB: I don't believe in that. The tyres are the same.
Q: This year, you've had bad practice sessions and great races. Why is that?
AB: The problem is the bike's setup. At the beginning of the year, everyone starts with stuff that needs tweaking. While other bikes evolved in the setup department, ours didn't. As each race passed, the difference from our bike to the others got bigger. Another problem was that Michelin's qualifying tyres were better than the Bridgestone ones, in general. In the race, the situation was the opposite. Many times I would only find good balance with my bike during warm-up, just before the race. And starting from the back, either you're lucky and get to pass many people on the first lap, or you're stuck back there, battling, while the front guys get away. In many races, my lap times were the same as those of podium-finishing riders, so that if I had't started from the back, I would be amongst the top guys.
Q: The Ducati is a very different bike when compared to the japanese ones, isn't it?
AB: Yeah. Its highlight is the engine's power. The chassis demands a certain strength when trying to get it into the corners. Look at my hand. These calluses are Ducati (laughs). But I think the main advantage Ducati had this season were the eletronics. The Magneti Marelli system is the most evolved of all. I can't talk much about it, but no other brand has a management system that is as good. The traction control isn't like those of other bikes, where the setup is unique for each track. Ours changes according to the way each person rides the bike, the parameters are different for each corner, individually, and this advantage was key in order for Ducati to be in front and win the title. But that doesn't take anything away from Stoner, who rode harder than anyone.
------------------------------------
So you could say that the other riders don't have the means to get a set-up, if you were that way inclined.
I am wondering if this the same with Melandri. I just don't believe that the guy can't get his head around the bike. You can see that he is not riding confidently.
The tactic of one rider doing better than the other in Ducati is pretty much par for their culture. Ever wonder why Xaus hasn't gotten a factory ride since he nearly put the screws to Hodgeson his (hodgey) last season in WSBK?
Capirex was out when Gibbers joined the team.
Hmm. I am rethinking Hayden on a Satellite team. Not a good move Bro.
I think the Ducati is unique to the other bikes,reading tests done by magzine journalists.
When they try the bikes ,they are made easy to ride with tamed mapping,ducati claiming (only!)about 200hp.
Even with that setting the ducati was vibrating and acting nervous like hell compared to suzuki,honda etc.
I read in a Swedish magazine that the guy testing the 2007 800's thought he was about 2 seconds faster per lap on the duc.And infact he was about 2 seconds slower compared to the more predictable and comfortable Yamaha or something.
The point is ,i think ,also considering Randy Mamolas test rides of the old 990's it is VERY important to be really comfortable on the bike if you want to be as fast as possible.If you have to use a fraction more effort to turn,or you don't trust the grip in the smallest amount or if it feels unstable,or the traction control is n't set up absolutely to maximum grip compared to the rider and what the bike needs,....you hesitate for 0,1 second or more at a turn which adds up if it happends at other turns and all of a sudden you are 1 second slower per lap just by the tiniest little discomfort or set up thing.
If the ducati is unique and nervous and a little heavier to turn and is tuned to peak power and you have to set up the traction control really well to go fast i could imagine that Ducati/the team has a pretty good idear how Stoner likes his TC set up.And i think Stoner has ,together with the team ,calculated how he should alter his riding style to get the best out of the tires.
Stoner has probarbly ajusted to how the bike needs to come out of turns or something,and can do it comfortably every time(just me guessing) .
I suspect that the duc needs someone very good at setting up/developing a bike,and maybe Melandri has n't had all the time he needs for that.Or ,it is not one of his strongpoints.
As for the D'Antin riders one only needs to read the Barros interview.Eventough they probarbly have bigger budget this year i don't think the riders have an easy job who ever they are.
About Ducati's powerful engine by the way,i read somewhere about their way to go.
It seem they started with an engine configuration which is the most fuel efficient = screamer,
the v4 gives a little more torque than an inline 4,the desmo.valve system makes it possible to use a camshaft tuning that makes more top end and torque ,and then tune the s.....te out of it and sacrafice bottom end and low mid range power ,put almost every thing at the top.
And,use extremly efficiant enginelubricant and oil circulation so you can run it really lean.
And the engine management does the rest.
I think a few other manufacturers started out from ,what makes the most power and then went from there.
Sorry 'bout the long post,
Anders
When they try the bikes ,they are made easy to ride with tamed mapping,ducati claiming (only!)about 200hp.
Even with that setting the ducati was vibrating and acting nervous like hell compared to suzuki,honda etc.
I read in a Swedish magazine that the guy testing the 2007 800's thought he was about 2 seconds faster per lap on the duc.And infact he was about 2 seconds slower compared to the more predictable and comfortable Yamaha or something.
The point is ,i think ,also considering Randy Mamolas test rides of the old 990's it is VERY important to be really comfortable on the bike if you want to be as fast as possible.If you have to use a fraction more effort to turn,or you don't trust the grip in the smallest amount or if it feels unstable,or the traction control is n't set up absolutely to maximum grip compared to the rider and what the bike needs,....you hesitate for 0,1 second or more at a turn which adds up if it happends at other turns and all of a sudden you are 1 second slower per lap just by the tiniest little discomfort or set up thing.
If the ducati is unique and nervous and a little heavier to turn and is tuned to peak power and you have to set up the traction control really well to go fast i could imagine that Ducati/the team has a pretty good idear how Stoner likes his TC set up.And i think Stoner has ,together with the team ,calculated how he should alter his riding style to get the best out of the tires.
Stoner has probarbly ajusted to how the bike needs to come out of turns or something,and can do it comfortably every time(just me guessing) .
I suspect that the duc needs someone very good at setting up/developing a bike,and maybe Melandri has n't had all the time he needs for that.Or ,it is not one of his strongpoints.
As for the D'Antin riders one only needs to read the Barros interview.Eventough they probarbly have bigger budget this year i don't think the riders have an easy job who ever they are.
About Ducati's powerful engine by the way,i read somewhere about their way to go.
It seem they started with an engine configuration which is the most fuel efficient = screamer,
the v4 gives a little more torque than an inline 4,the desmo.valve system makes it possible to use a camshaft tuning that makes more top end and torque ,and then tune the s.....te out of it and sacrafice bottom end and low mid range power ,put almost every thing at the top.
And,use extremly efficiant enginelubricant and oil circulation so you can run it really lean.
And the engine management does the rest.
I think a few other manufacturers started out from ,what makes the most power and then went from there.
Sorry 'bout the long post,
Anders
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Anders GUZZI @ Mar 14 2008, 01:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I think the Ducati is unique to the other bikes,reading tests done by magzine journalists.
When they try the bikes ,they are made easy to ride with tamed mapping,ducati claiming (only!)about 200hp.
Even with that setting the ducati was vibrating and acting nervous like hell compared to suzuki,honda etc.
I read in a Swedish magazine that the guy testing the 2007 800's thought he was about 2 seconds faster per lap on the duc.And infact he was about 2 seconds slower compared to the more predictable and comfortable Yamaha or something.
The point is ,i think ,also considering Randy Mamolas test rides of the old 990's it is VERY important to be really comfortable on the bike if you want to be as fast as possible.If you have to use a fraction more effort to turn,or you don't trust the grip in the smallest amount or if it feels unstable,or the traction control is n't set up absolutely to maximum grip compared to the rider and what the bike needs,....you hesitate for 0,1 second or more at a turn which adds up if it happends at other turns and all of a sudden you are 1 second slower per lap just by the tiniest little discomfort or set up thing.
If the ducati is unique and nervous and a little heavier to turn and is tuned to peak power and you have to set up the traction control really well to go fast i could imagine that Ducati/the team has a pretty good idear how Stoner likes his TC set up.And i think Stoner has ,together with the team ,calculated how he should alter his riding style to get the best out of the tires.
Stoner has probarbly ajusted to how the bike needs to come out of turns or something,and can do it comfortably every time(just me guessing) .
I suspect that the duc needs someone very good at setting up/developing a bike,and maybe Melandri has n't had all the time he needs for that.Or ,it is not one of his strongpoints.
As for the D'Antin riders one only needs to read the Barros interview.Eventough they probarbly have bigger budget this year i don't think the riders have an easy job who ever they are.
About Ducati's powerful engine by the way,i read somewhere about their way to go.
It seem they started with an engine configuration which is the most fuel efficient = screamer,
the v4 gives a little more torque than an inline 4,the desmo.valve system makes it possible to use a camshaft tuning that makes more top end and torque ,and then tune the s.....te out of it and sacrafice bottom end and low mid range power ,put almost every thing at the top.
And,use extremly efficiant enginelubricant and oil circulation so you can run it really lean.
And the engine management does the rest.
I think a few other manufacturers started out from ,what makes the most power and then went from there.
Sorry 'bout the long post,
Anders
Didn't Schumacher get on the Ducati and blast away all his times.
When they try the bikes ,they are made easy to ride with tamed mapping,ducati claiming (only!)about 200hp.
Even with that setting the ducati was vibrating and acting nervous like hell compared to suzuki,honda etc.
I read in a Swedish magazine that the guy testing the 2007 800's thought he was about 2 seconds faster per lap on the duc.And infact he was about 2 seconds slower compared to the more predictable and comfortable Yamaha or something.
The point is ,i think ,also considering Randy Mamolas test rides of the old 990's it is VERY important to be really comfortable on the bike if you want to be as fast as possible.If you have to use a fraction more effort to turn,or you don't trust the grip in the smallest amount or if it feels unstable,or the traction control is n't set up absolutely to maximum grip compared to the rider and what the bike needs,....you hesitate for 0,1 second or more at a turn which adds up if it happends at other turns and all of a sudden you are 1 second slower per lap just by the tiniest little discomfort or set up thing.
If the ducati is unique and nervous and a little heavier to turn and is tuned to peak power and you have to set up the traction control really well to go fast i could imagine that Ducati/the team has a pretty good idear how Stoner likes his TC set up.And i think Stoner has ,together with the team ,calculated how he should alter his riding style to get the best out of the tires.
Stoner has probarbly ajusted to how the bike needs to come out of turns or something,and can do it comfortably every time(just me guessing) .
I suspect that the duc needs someone very good at setting up/developing a bike,and maybe Melandri has n't had all the time he needs for that.Or ,it is not one of his strongpoints.
As for the D'Antin riders one only needs to read the Barros interview.Eventough they probarbly have bigger budget this year i don't think the riders have an easy job who ever they are.
About Ducati's powerful engine by the way,i read somewhere about their way to go.
It seem they started with an engine configuration which is the most fuel efficient = screamer,
the v4 gives a little more torque than an inline 4,the desmo.valve system makes it possible to use a camshaft tuning that makes more top end and torque ,and then tune the s.....te out of it and sacrafice bottom end and low mid range power ,put almost every thing at the top.
And,use extremly efficiant enginelubricant and oil circulation so you can run it really lean.
And the engine management does the rest.
I think a few other manufacturers started out from ,what makes the most power and then went from there.
Sorry 'bout the long post,
Anders
Didn't Schumacher get on the Ducati and blast away all his times.
Joined Oct 2006
25K Posts | 4K+
Your Mom's House
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Anders GUZZI @ Mar 14 2008, 12:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Sorry 'bout the long post,
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Great post.
Here is what I think: Stoner is the madcap genius, poetry and harmony in motion, unique man & machine synergy. ...., I wish that was Hayden!
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Great post.
Here is what I think: Stoner is the madcap genius, poetry and harmony in motion, unique man & machine synergy. ...., I wish that was Hayden!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Mar 12 2008, 02:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Good question Pinks. The only answer I have is the rider. The bike is very unique and is in perfect harmony with Stoner, alone. That is it.
Are you sure you used the right word, because the way I read the rest tell me you give most of the credit to the bike
Seriously, the bike is a mystery, Melandri has no less than 5 wins, Capirossi a few, but also some epic battles with Rossi on the Ducati but starting from january '07 nobody but stoner has been able to ride the bike, at least not consistently.
I'm not suggesting it was designed around him but I find no other reasonable explanation but what you say Jumkie, a perfect harmoy, happening as a "freak accident" the moment he put his legs over that machine for the first time. Freak as in nobody else can figure the bike out properly and to me it's really a mystery. Truly an achivement by Stoner but stil a mystery why no others can.
Are you sure you used the right word, because the way I read the rest tell me you give most of the credit to the bike
Seriously, the bike is a mystery, Melandri has no less than 5 wins, Capirossi a few, but also some epic battles with Rossi on the Ducati but starting from january '07 nobody but stoner has been able to ride the bike, at least not consistently.
I'm not suggesting it was designed around him but I find no other reasonable explanation but what you say Jumkie, a perfect harmoy, happening as a "freak accident" the moment he put his legs over that machine for the first time. Freak as in nobody else can figure the bike out properly and to me it's really a mystery. Truly an achivement by Stoner but stil a mystery why no others can.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Mar 14 2008, 10:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Didn't Schumacher get on the Ducati and blast away all his times.
According to another rider or a teamboss/technician (i don't remember)who was commenting on that on crash.net or something he was n't all that surprised actually.As everybody knows Schumacher is an extremly talanted racer,quick reactions ,experience of speed and chosing good lines and so on.
Maybe it was Colin Edwards who made the comment,now that i come to think of it.
Anyway,Schumacher had been helped by the ducati team to set up the bike and use the tractioncontrol,getting thorough instructions.According to Colin (i think)it is easy to jam the controls to maximum and then just let it rip and be 5 seconds off pace,for someone who is that experienced with speed ,and bikes ofcourse.
BUT,to be faster than that, 2 or 3 seconds off or something, is very hard.Because then you have to ease up on the tractioncontrol and be much more careful.
On the other hand you've got to have quite some balls to push a machine like that under those circumstances.
Anders
According to another rider or a teamboss/technician (i don't remember)who was commenting on that on crash.net or something he was n't all that surprised actually.As everybody knows Schumacher is an extremly talanted racer,quick reactions ,experience of speed and chosing good lines and so on.
Maybe it was Colin Edwards who made the comment,now that i come to think of it.
Anyway,Schumacher had been helped by the ducati team to set up the bike and use the tractioncontrol,getting thorough instructions.According to Colin (i think)it is easy to jam the controls to maximum and then just let it rip and be 5 seconds off pace,for someone who is that experienced with speed ,and bikes ofcourse.
BUT,to be faster than that, 2 or 3 seconds off or something, is very hard.Because then you have to ease up on the tractioncontrol and be much more careful.
On the other hand you've got to have quite some balls to push a machine like that under those circumstances.
Anders
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Mar 14 2008, 10:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Great post.
Here is what I think: Stoner is the madcap genius, poetry and harmony in motion, unique man & machine synergy. ...., I wish that was Hayden!
thanks,i agree with you on Stoner.It has got to be a reason why Suppo keeps saying that ,it's Stoner who is the big difference,not the bike or tires.He has said it a few times in interviews ,and is n't he supposed to say that the riders are good but Ducati is the difference.
I wish that was Capirossi still on a 990 though.
Anders
Great post.
Here is what I think: Stoner is the madcap genius, poetry and harmony in motion, unique man & machine synergy. ...., I wish that was Hayden!
thanks,i agree with you on Stoner.It has got to be a reason why Suppo keeps saying that ,it's Stoner who is the big difference,not the bike or tires.He has said it a few times in interviews ,and is n't he supposed to say that the riders are good but Ducati is the difference.
I wish that was Capirossi still on a 990 though.
Anders
Btw. did anyone watching eurosport UK get what kind of independant measuments that was being done during last weekend. On the scandinavion version we don't get mamolas comments, that's only for the commentators ears
but they reported some measurments showing that the ducati advantage was mostly acceleration at the beginning of the straight. Any one heard anything more on that?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Babelfish @ Mar 15 2008, 02:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Btw. did anyone watching eurosport UK get what kind of independant measuments that was being done during last weekend. On the scandinavion version we don't get mamolas comments, that's only for the commentators ears
but they reported some measurments showing that the ducati advantage was mostly acceleration at the beginning of the straight. Any one heard anything more on that?
We don't get mamola in australia either but this makes sense to me. Stoner's ducati seems to have a major advantage in accelerating out of corners too and to my admittedly not very knowledgeable eyes his whole riding style seems to be aimed at optimising that advantage.
We don't get mamola in australia either but this makes sense to me. Stoner's ducati seems to have a major advantage in accelerating out of corners too and to my admittedly not very knowledgeable eyes his whole riding style seems to be aimed at optimising that advantage.
Joined Jun 2007
10K Posts | 1K+
Norah Head
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Mar 15 2008, 02:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>to my admittedly not very knowledgeable eyes his whole riding style seems to be aimed at optimising that advantage.
Dead right ....... watch Laguna Seca 07 he just takes it to the extreme their ....... he was a rocketship out of turn one there and , of all places the corkscrew.
All low speed corners he takes them in deep them blasts out or them, if there is someone to overtake whilst doing it he picks the bike up straight avoids any chance of loss of grip on the tyre edge. Its a classic Doohan move. Body moves a lot on the bike when needed ...
Dead right ....... watch Laguna Seca 07 he just takes it to the extreme their ....... he was a rocketship out of turn one there and , of all places the corkscrew.
All low speed corners he takes them in deep them blasts out or them, if there is someone to overtake whilst doing it he picks the bike up straight avoids any chance of loss of grip on the tyre edge. Its a classic Doohan move. Body moves a lot on the bike when needed ...
In one of the interviews that I saw, Stoner said that they have improved the drive out of corners and smoothed out the bottom to midrange, which was hampering them before.
In another interview with Cappers last year, he said the Ducati electronics are critical. He said that when the electronics are set6 up well, the bike is good. But when they are not so well set up, the bike is almost unrideable. Explains his hot and cold performance last year.
In another interview with Cappers last year, he said the Ducati electronics are critical. He said that when the electronics are set6 up well, the bike is good. But when they are not so well set up, the bike is almost unrideable. Explains his hot and cold performance last year.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BarryMachine @ Mar 15 2008, 02:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Dead right ....... watch Laguna Seca 07 he just takes it to the extreme their ....... he was a rocketship out of turn one there and , of all places the corkscrew.
All low speed corners he takes them in deep them blasts out or them, if there is someone to overtake whilst doing it he picks the bike up straight avoids any chance of loss of grip on the tyre edge. Its a classic Doohan move. Body moves a lot on the bike when needed ...
Hmmm, I have to agree... not a bad person to emulate one would think?
All low speed corners he takes them in deep them blasts out or them, if there is someone to overtake whilst doing it he picks the bike up straight avoids any chance of loss of grip on the tyre edge. Its a classic Doohan move. Body moves a lot on the bike when needed ...
Hmmm, I have to agree... not a bad person to emulate one would think?
Joined Jun 2007
10K Posts | 1K+
Norah Head
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (muzzy57 @ Mar 15 2008, 07:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Hmmm, I have to agree... not a bad person to emulate one would think?
Well think about it ..... lean angle gets read by sensor .... limits power cos it thinks you are on the edge of the tyre ..... you hang your body out more and pick the bike up, it both puts you on a nicer part of the tyre, plus it bypasses the limiting of the power by the lean angle sensor.
Its hardly rocket science ........ or is it
Edit: Kinda reminds me of riding something like those old BSA Bantams or simillar with those old Bing or Amal carbies that never worked right when the bike was leaned over when I think of it
Well think about it ..... lean angle gets read by sensor .... limits power cos it thinks you are on the edge of the tyre ..... you hang your body out more and pick the bike up, it both puts you on a nicer part of the tyre, plus it bypasses the limiting of the power by the lean angle sensor.
Its hardly rocket science ........ or is it
Edit: Kinda reminds me of riding something like those old BSA Bantams or simillar with those old Bing or Amal carbies that never worked right when the bike was leaned over when I think of it
