WSBK Phillip Island
- Thread starter xx CURVE xx
- Start date
Help Support MotoGP Forum:
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2006
- Messages
- 1,003
- Location
- US
That was refreshing!
Watching SBKs go around The Island is one of my favorite racing pastimes. Too bad the battle for the win wasn't there.
Judging from this race, I'll be asking myself three questions:
1. Can Melandri run up front consistently?
2. Can Checa keep this form up throughout the season?
3. Can Haslam contend for the title on the BMW?
Judging from this race, I'll be asking myself three questions:
1. Can Melandri run up front consistently?
2. Can Checa keep this form up throughout the season?
3. Can Haslam contend for the title on the BMW?
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2009
- Messages
- 1,453
- Location
- California
That was refreshing!Watching SBKs go around The Island is one of my favorite racing pastimes. Too bad the battle for the win wasn't there.
Judging from this race, I'll be asking myself three questions:
1. Can Melandri run up front consistently?
2. Can Checa keep this form up throughout the season?
3. Can Haslam contend for the title on the BMW?
1. I think he'll do well enough to be at the pointy end more than he's not.
2. Checa is good enough but I suspect the Ducati will suffer badly on tracks where top end is important (Monza)
3. I don't think so. I think the BMW will need another year to get the bike right
That's my take. It was a nice start to the season though.
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2006
- Messages
- 1,003
- Location
- US
I'm questioning Checa's consistency, really. He has doubled before and had competitive weekends, but he hasn't done it consistently. Can he this year?
BTW, Ducati's official reason for leaving WSBK on a factory-team basis looks silly now, don't it?
That was refreshing!Watching SBKs go around The Island is one of my favorite racing pastimes. Too bad the battle for the win wasn't there.
Judging from this race, I'll be asking myself three questions:
1. Can Melandri run up front consistently?
2. Can Checa keep this form up throughout the season?
3. Can Haslam contend for the title on the BMW?
Three good questions. I think Melandri wil be relatively consistent (compared to the bulk of the field) but will have weekends where he is absent. Checa i think will generally do well, but at a track where the 4 cylinder bikes are more at home there will suddenly be a lot of guys between him and the front making his life difficult. Biaggi is solid, i expect him to put a season together similar to last year and i think he will be extremely hard to beat. I wont be surprised if people can beat him at any given weekend but over the whole seaosn i think is something else entirely. But i hope there is a championship battle. Haslam looks good, i think he'll take wins this year but i'm not sure yet if he can fight for the title, the BMW still seems to use its tyres up quite aggressively.
I understand where he is comming from even if i don't agree. I wouldn't even mind him saying as much if he presented his opinion in a considered manner. He came accross as bitter and unsporting about the result being 'wrong', he just wasn't being even remotely diplomatic. It isn't a big deal really i know, and its better to have a commentator who is a bit too passionate at times than one who isn't passionate enough about the sport.
It's nice to finally get some on track action after a long off season. Checa was impressive but PI has definitely been a Ducati track although looking at the results there wasn't another Ducati anywhere close to the front. The race of the day was definitely the Supersport race. Lowes was money on the fast turns but didn't have the straight line speed and looked a little out of sorts in the slower corners. If he can find a few HP and work a little on his slow corner skills I think that he is going to be a force. Scassa was very impressive. The man is huge so he was also at a disadvantage in a way. Im not sure how that works out on the HP vs Weight department. It appeared that he could get out of the last turn a lot better than Lowes. I have never seen so many flat tires WTF happened there? Bring on Donington.
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2006
- Messages
- 24,726
- Location
- Your Mom's House
Ok, I haven't read through the thread and was staying away cuz we don't see supersport until tuesday (if we are lucky).
But, as far as the superbike race:
The most talented rider in Wsbk is Leon Haslam!
Well, so much for Ducati circling the wagons around Rossi, at least a Duc did well in the season opener.
I was rooting for Lavery both races. What happeneded? Did he chew up his tires?
Melandri was the big revelation. Good for him, this should help him with his mental weakness .
Haga....oh Haga. Know when to hang your boots and leave gracefully.
The Aprillia is a rocket ship.
(May I ask, that if you're going to give supersport results below please preface it with a
...SS SPOIL ALERT...
But, as far as the superbike race:
The most talented rider in Wsbk is Leon Haslam!
Well, so much for Ducati circling the wagons around Rossi, at least a Duc did well in the season opener.
I was rooting for Lavery both races. What happeneded? Did he chew up his tires?
Melandri was the big revelation. Good for him, this should help him with his mental weakness .
Haga....oh Haga. Know when to hang your boots and leave gracefully.
The Aprillia is a rocket ship.
(May I ask, that if you're going to give supersport results below please preface it with a
...SS SPOIL ALERT...
Apparently he got a bit of arm pump, also in race 2 he had a couple of false nuetrals leading to him running on at corners
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2009
- Messages
- 1,453
- Location
- California
Ok, I haven't read through the thread and was staying away cuz we don't see supersport until tuesday (if we are lucky).
But, as far as the superbike race:
The most talented rider in Wsbk is Leon Haslam!
Well, so much for Ducati circling the wagons around Rossi, at least a Duc did well in the season opener.
I was rooting for Lavery both races. What happeneded? Did he chew up his tires?
Melandri was the big revelation. Good for him, this should help him with his mental weakness .
Haga....oh Haga. Know when to hang your boots and leave gracefully.
The Aprillia is a rocket ship.
(May I ask, that if you're going to give supersport results below please preface it with a
...SS SPOIL ALERT...
WTF man? Why you baggin on Haga? He did fine I thought?? It's early, Haga will podium this season which is more than can be said for most of the field. Go easy!
I think Ducati's consistency is a bigger question b/c the bike is air-restricted. I know Checa has been inconsistent in the past, but the air-restrictor and the lack of top end will have a much bigger impact, imo.
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2006
- Messages
- 24,726
- Location
- Your Mom's House
I root for Haga bro. But I was disappointed, 9th in race one. Even getting beat by Tom Sykes on a 'Kawasaki'. Race two, 7th, ok, but still he was the last Aprillia. At least in race two he was in the mix. Check out the results and you will see he beat almost nobody threatening for the championship. Maybe my expectations are too high? I think Haga should be in top 3 all the time. The Aprillia is not slow, I'd say probably the best package all around. Anyway, yeah, I think I did go a bit overboard, its just round one. But if he doesn't start podiuming regularly, something will be wrong.
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2007
- Messages
- 10,518
- Location
- Tennessee
According to Buckmaster and Lowes, the rider was mostly at fault for getting nicked at the line. Both said he kind of botched the last corner and ...... up his drive to the finish line.British announcers are very one sided when it comes to British riders. You either love their passion or hate it. I overlook their one sided approach and just enjoy the rest. It is SOOOOO much better than we ever get over here. British sports announcers wear their hearts on their sleeve. Is it unprofessional, yes, but i can overlook it for the passion they bring to the sport
Do remember though that Biaggi only got a 5th and an 8th last year.
But yeah, come Donington, a track Biaggi did really well at in 09 is more suited to the Aprilia. Unless it rains i really expect him in the top group there. Hope i don't excpect to much...
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2006
- Messages
- 2,525
- Location
- Tar Heel State
Chubby Checa....I think most will be seeing the backside of that Duc all year unless some restrictions are imposed to his machine.
Never under estimate Mad Max!....err do we even call him that anymore as he seems to have mellowed somewhat since the birth of his daughter.
Melandri will improve and the Yamaha's look up to the task. His racecraft may still only be 80% as he is still recovering from shoulder surgery.
Haga will get there, as huub mentions, PI isn't Aprilla's stomping ground.
Haslam will give everyone fits if they can sort the tire wear issue. Is it time for Corser to retire?
Damn it would be nice to have an American to root for in WSBK...oh well, probably won't happen for a long time.
Never under estimate Mad Max!....err do we even call him that anymore as he seems to have mellowed somewhat since the birth of his daughter.
Melandri will improve and the Yamaha's look up to the task. His racecraft may still only be 80% as he is still recovering from shoulder surgery.
Haga will get there, as huub mentions, PI isn't Aprilla's stomping ground.
Haslam will give everyone fits if they can sort the tire wear issue. Is it time for Corser to retire?
Damn it would be nice to have an American to root for in WSBK...oh well, probably won't happen for a long time.
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2006
- Messages
- 24,726
- Location
- Your Mom's House
I've adopted Haslam. so technically he's American. Root for him.
Suzuki snatched the title from Haslams hand in 2010, this year the BMW will snatch it from his hand. Why Crutchlow was promoted and not Haslam is a mystery to me.
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2009
- Messages
- 1,453
- Location
- California
Restrictions, like what? It's been one of the slowest bikes the last two years. It was one of the slowest bikes on the front straight in PI. The Ducati is down on power, slow on the straights but great in the corners and it takes VERY good care of it's tires. The advantage of the Ducati is tire wear and mid corner speed. The twin loses top end power via it's lower RPM but makes that up with torque in and out of the corners.
Why not slow the Aprilia?
BTW, I don't think anything should be "slowed"........
I've adopted Haslam. so technically he's American. Root for him.
Suzuki snatched the title from Haslams hand in 2010, this year the BMW will snatch it from his hand. Why Crutchlow was promoted and not Haslam is a mystery to me.
HAHA, you can't have Haslam he is ours!! I think Cal's connections with Yamaha did him a lot of favours in getting to motogp. Leon was with Suzuki and moved to BMW, i think that shows his commitment to a medium term commitment to winning the world superbike title, which i think he can do (maybe not this year). Plus Leon isn't all that young and has been riding at a pretty steady level for some time, Cal has been very much on an upward slope so no we get the chance to see how high he can go... I suspect not much higher.
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2006
- Messages
- 24,726
- Location
- Your Mom's House
Just saw supersport, HOLY ....!
Spoiler below....
Ok, man, I'm glad we have some racing to talk about...finally. Where the hell did Scassa come from? He was on the tail end of that group for most of the race. Infact they make very little mention of him then bam, hits the front. That dude raced in the AMA on a project with MV Augusta. Last year he was with (can't remember) but it was ..... What a difference a competitive ride makes. Good for him. He reminds me of that Italian dude who rode for GP Ducati (can't remember his name right now). Anyway, I do remember reading about him a long time ago in some Italian article how he was an up and coming youngster. Well he's made good.
Spoiler below....
Ok, man, I'm glad we have some racing to talk about...finally. Where the hell did Scassa come from? He was on the tail end of that group for most of the race. Infact they make very little mention of him then bam, hits the front. That dude raced in the AMA on a project with MV Augusta. Last year he was with (can't remember) but it was ..... What a difference a competitive ride makes. Good for him. He reminds me of that Italian dude who rode for GP Ducati (can't remember his name right now). Anyway, I do remember reading about him a long time ago in some Italian article how he was an up and coming youngster. Well he's made good.
All of the bikes are being slowed so you might as well get comfortable with it. Furthermore, the Ducati already has an air restrictor equipped, and that's what L8 was referring to. There is a performance indexing formula in the rulebook that allows the SBK commission to adjust the size of Ducati's air restrictor based upon how many races they win and their average finishing position.
