Since '02 xBhp is different things to different people. From a close knit national community of bikers to India's only motorcycling lifestyle magazine and a place to make like-minded biker friends. Join us

Castrol Power 1

Fatigue, sleepiness, & alcohol are the same.

Our Partner

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

MotoGP : 2011 Season

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • I wish I could say me4 but alas not going this year. Hopefully next year.

    Yeah I believe him when he says ducati might pull out due to financial strategies or constraints. And also when he says that Rossi is hopelessly stuck between being in ducati and retirement. Bit hard to believe he will never win another race again in futur, championship however is a different matter. But may be this is just because I am a rossi fan
    Last edited by TheRedPill; 09-22-2011, 12:34 AM.

    Comment


    • more insight comments on who developed the yamaha in 2004.

      First off, in 2002 Biaggi had 2 wins and 9 podiums on the M1 and finished 2nd overall. Not too bad. In 2003 Rossi went to Yamaha knowing they were greatly upping their investment in the class. At the first test they showed up with several chassis and engine configurations and Rossi picked the one he liked best and started going fast. So they did a lot of R&D and testing without Rossi's input then when they were nearly done they got him to put the icing on the cake.

      Biaggi finished runner up in 2002 with 2 wins and him and Checa scored 12 podiums and 5 poles that year.
      2003 was a tough year for Yamaha, mainly because their star rider, Biaggi, went to Honda and was replaced by Barros, no match.
      In 2003 Checa scored only 18 points less than in 2002, the bike was not suddenly much worse, it's just what happens when you lose a very talented rider.
      Also, 2003 coincides with the arrival of Furosawa at the head of Yamaha MotoGP project which was a huge influence for the years to come.
      Rossi arrived in 2004, and the poor season they had in 2003 gives this halo of savior to Rossi. But I don't think Yamaha level suddenly dropped in 2003 and then got picked up by Rossi in 2004. They had a very fast rider in 2002, a lesser rider in 2003 (no disrespect to Checa, in GP he was never a match for Biaggi, now he got his revenge in WSBK) and an awesome rider in 2004, hired along with the best mechanics that just won 9 titles in the last 10 seasons.
      The design of the 2004 Yamaha had nothing to do with Rossi. It was the brainchild of Furusawa. This is a matter of public record. Furusawa designed a new bike with a crossplane crankshaft. It was not the 2003 Yamaha with a few tweaks, it was a new specification. When Rossi tested the various bikes Yamaha had available he chose the Furusawa designed bike. This validated the Furusawa design with Yamaha management. The results achieved in 2004 showed that both Furasawa and Rossi had chosen correctly. Clearly Rossi, Burgess and Furusawa between them developed the bike further over the season. But the fundamental design owed nothing at all to Rossi.
      Source -> comments on 2011 Aragon MotoGP Post-Race Round Up, Part 2: The Old, The New Chassis, And A New New Chassis | MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks
      sigpic

      my Travelogue -> www.roadsonwheels.com

      Comment


      • Originally posted by prabhubravo View Post


        Agree to whatever is mentioned, what if Rossi had rejected Furusawa designed bike, I recall in an interview where Furusawa mentioned he was grateful to Rossi for selecting the bike designed by him, the bike was slow on the straights but was very quick in the corners. It was a team effort.

        I have taken this from a very very good interview of Furusawa after he quit




        Masao Furusawa:
        Oh yes. 2002. For 2003 I recommended to change from carburettor to a fuel-injection system and chain-driven camshafts.

        I had always approached problems as a kind of outsider, a consultant, looking in and recommending this, this and this. But doing it is different. It was such a big shock when I jumped in to MotoGP in 2003. 'Wow! This is all my responsibility'.

        And the results that year [one podium] were terrible. 2003 was hell!

        I thought many things were wrong, but I was new to racing, so it was just my own ideas from logical thinking, analysis and experience. Reality is not necessarily the same. So some people were sceptical. Looking at me and thinking 'we understand what you are saying, but reality is different.'

        It can be really hard to convince everyone to go in the same direction. So I did some trick. I came up with a pretty good idea - the crossplane crankshaft [utilising 'big bang' technology] - and then right after I joined MotoGP I started a design. Half a year later the first prototype ran on the racetrack near the Yamaha headquarters.

        Everybody was looking and the first thing the test rider said was 'this bike feels slow'. So everyone looked at me, thinking 'Hmmm. You are the guy who thought of this...' And then he said 'But the lap time is so fast. It just feels slow because it is very, very smooth and stable.'

        That was Christmas time in 2003. Then Valentino Rossi came to Yamaha and rode for the first time here [at Sepang] in January 2004. He is really a genius. He rode the crossplane bike for just five or six laps and then came back and said 'this bike is the best one'. Even though it was slow, because the power was not so much.

        I had prepared lots of combinations for him to try: Four-valve system, five-valve system, crossplane, single plane. And he pointed to the crossplane crankshaft bike with four-valve.

        Before, everybody was so scared to look at a new engine, because for a long time Yamaha had been successful with the five-valve. People said 'How can you throw away the five-valve system?'

        I said 'It is a very interesting system. It's lots of fun for a production bike, but the purpose of racing is not fun. Fun is ok, but the first thing we have to do is win. The problem we have had is Yamaha is losing the game for over ten years. So we have to change.'

        So the four-valve system and crossplane crankshaft was the best, but it was also a brand new engine design, which is why the power was so slow. But despite that, Valentino still pointed to that engine and said 'this is it'.



        Q:
        Is that a lesson you want people at Yamaha to remember, that something might not necessarily produce the best numbers on a design simulation, but the most important thing to remember is the human connection with the machine?

        Masao Furusawa:
        Right. And you need to remember that Valentino was kind of like a King. We all huddled around him when he came in after riding to listen to what he had to say - would he give 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' to our ideas?

        So when Valentino gave the 'thumbs up' for four-valve and crossplane crankshaft everybody knew it was the way forward and worked in the same direction. We didn't have much time. Only two months to the race in South Africa. So I really owe a big thanks to Valentino for making a clear and correct choice.

        I had showed some results and evidence [to support the engine change] with the prototype running on the test track, but maybe only 50 percent of people thought 'ok I will follow you'. The other 50 percent still thought 'that is not the reality on the race track'.

        But after Valentino said 'yes', everybody knew it was the right thing and we were able to get a lot of power from people all working as a team. That is one reason why we have had such good results.

        Maybe if Valentino hadn't come to Yamaha, I would have been [jokes about a noose around his neck!].
        All in all, it hurts to even think if Rossi wont win a race again
        Last edited by bprags; 09-22-2011, 12:04 PM.

        Comment


        • ^^ y do think that he wont win again?? ducati and his team are doing everything possible! they wont go home lossing!!
          sigpic

          my Travelogue -> www.roadsonwheels.com

          Comment


          • Originally posted by prabhubravo View Post
            ^^ y do think that he wont win again?? ducati and his team are doing everything possible! they wont go home lossing!!
            I am worried, the inability of Ducati to improve the bike, might force him to retire. He isnt young anymore, if you look at his post race interviews, he seems more and more frustrated.

            Comment


            • Originally posted by prabhubravo View Post
              Seen at many places, Rossi said he is not an engineer but a rider, and also at many places he said he wants to develop a bike which is easy to ride(something similar). But we should not forget that rider has got big role in development, they take his feedback to move forward.
              Why did Ducati moved forward with CF frame?
              sigpicMy triplog of South Indian Trip.

              Comment


              • As quoted by one of the experts in the sport:
                Ducati's efforts look like more of faith and wishful thinking than finding a solution to their problems.


                Team Orders!
                Yamaha ready for team orders to help Jorge Lorenzo - | Motorcycle Sport | MotoGP News | MotoGP Results | MCN

                Comment


                • ^^The last thing I ever wanted for spies to get into.
                  I would hate it if Ben has to help Jorge to get this year title. Moreover if Ben helps and Jorge still losses it (which he most likely will)

                  Ben would loose some part of the tonns of respect I have for him. But that's just me, he might want Yamaha to still get the title
                  Just because you haven't seen it doesnt mean its impossible...expect the unexpected.

                  Comment


                  • Yamaha has gone to the ****, as a protest, I am selling my R15

                    Comment


                    • Nothing left from GP11.1, concedes Nicky Hayden - | Motorcycle Sport | MotoGP News | MotoGP Results | MCN

                      Words from the racer -
                      It appears that Rossi has completely lost faith in the carbon fibre project but Hayden said he didn’t think it was the material that was the cause of Ducati's persistent front-end issues.
                      He added: “They’ve tested aluminium and I don’t think it is a matter of material. I think it is more stiffness and flex. You can make carbon softer or stiffer so I don’t think that's the situation. I tested a lot of aluminium swingarms and carbon fibre swingarms and you can get either one to do what you want it to do.”
                      As Hayden is not happy with GP11.1 and Gp11.x will be available only to Rossi, will we be seeing Hayden back on the original GP11 bike at motegi


                      EDIT:
                      Dovi on LCR next year?? I wish to see him on the suzuki alongside bautista(but looks both the riders are searching elsewhere)

                      Get the lowdown on the latest motorcycle sport news - MotoGP, World Superbikes, British Superbikes and much more! Check out MCN for exclusive news.
                      Last edited by prabhubravo; 09-23-2011, 05:24 AM.
                      sigpic

                      my Travelogue -> www.roadsonwheels.com

                      Comment


                      • Material was never a problem in the chassis but as it has already been mentioned a lot of times, rossi and crew are familiar and comfortable with setting up the bike and making changes to the aluminium chassis because they know how it will behave changing even the smallest of the things. It's just that Rossi and team don't understand CF as they haven't worked any time in their career. Hence from the inception of Rossi/Ducati marriage Rossi along with JB has been pushing for an aluminium chassis which they understand in and out.

                        One more day of testing 1000cc for Rossi:
                        Jerez: Rossi like Stoner on the 1000

                        Mixed reports have come along. Some say Rossi was close to Stoner's fastest pole lap in Jerez but others say Rossi is still 2 seconds away from the 1000s.

                        Comment


                        • well rossi might ve been close to 800cc's laptimes but reports say/claim/predict that the 1000s where 2 seconds faster. If this too doesnt show any improvements in motegi, then, as suggested by stoner at the end of 2010, ducati had to try the screamer engine with Rossi.

                          Paddock gossip - some of it very well-informed - from Casey Stoner's test of the 1000cc Honda at Jerez in May suggests that Stoner was two seconds quicker on the RC213V than he was on the 800cc RC212V during the race weekend.
                          sigpic

                          my Travelogue -> www.roadsonwheels.com

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by prabhubravo View Post
                            well rossi might ve been close to 800cc's laptimes but reports say/claim/predict that the 1000s where 2 seconds faster. If this too doesnt show any improvements in motegi, then, as suggested by stoner at the end of 2010, ducati had to try the screamer engine with Rossi.
                            Few ppl also suspected that lap times of Stoner may not be correct. The 1000's have to be extremely faster than the 800's to post a 2seconds faster laps on a tight circuit like Jerez, which may not be the case.
                            sigpicMy triplog of South Indian Trip.

                            Comment


                            • ^^ thats y i said the reports say/claim/predict
                              sigpic

                              my Travelogue -> www.roadsonwheels.com

                              Comment


                              • Who knows this time Rossi may actually be sandbagging for 2012 Won't be surprising if he is

                                Interesting thoughts from Lorenzo:
                                Lorenzo: I want to beat Vale on equal terms

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X