MotoGP 2014 Season

[Go4Long]

And Aprilia announced a return to motogp in 2015. So two new factory efforts in 2015.

[civic_stylez]

Im still surprised Kawasaki hasnt made more of a play in the premier class. But im glad to see suzuki back and aprilia in the mix next year.

[Modelexis]

You guys also hear that Scott Redding now has a seat on an Rcv213v

Gonna be a lot of wild cards in the mix next year

[Modelexis]

Also:


09/17/2014
JACK MILLER TO JOIN CWM LCR HONDA TEAM FOR THE 2015 MOTOGP CAMPAIGN

The CWM LCR Honda Team is pleased to officially announce that Australian rider, Jack Miller, will compete with them in the 2015 MotoGP World Championship riding the Honda RC213V-RS Open Specification bike.

The 19-year-old racer from Townsville, who is currently leading the Moto3 World Championship, will compete in the MotoGP Open Class thanks to the support of Honda Racing Corporation, LCR’s historical sponsors and new team partner CWM, alongside the more experienced British talent Cal Crutchlow riding the Honda RC213V Factory Specification bike.

This is the first time since their debut in the MotoGP class in 2006, that Lucio Cecchinello’s squad will field two riders, and this is largely thanks to new sponsor CWMFX.com.
- See more at: http://www.lcr.mc/#sthash.luB4tr9N.dpuf

[Go4Long]

Can't wait for Austin next year

[japan_us]

Originally posted by civic_stylez
Im still surprised Kawasaki hasnt made more of a play in the premier class. But im glad to see suzuki back and aprilia in the mix next year.

I've said it before: I'll always have a soft spot for Kawi. Hopefully they return in the near future.

Let's just hope that the new rules make it more appealing for more manufacturers to jump in, and more importantly, make for more competitive racing.

Imagine no open class, and just two factory bikes + two satellites from: Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki, Aprilia, KTM and Kawi, meaning a massive 28 rider grid and likely no quality rider without a seat?

edit: I'll go further and dare to dream something along the lines of:

Honda: M. Marquez, Pedrosa, Miller, Redding
Yamaha: Rossi, Lorenzo, P. Espargaro, Vinales
Ducati: Dovi, Iannone, Giugliano, Fenati
Suzuki: E. Laverty, A. Marquez, Terol, Hayden
Aprilia: Bautista, Melandri, Rea, Rabat
KTM: Ajo, Kallio, Davies, Crutchlow
Kawi: Sykes, Baz, Rins, Zarco

Honda and Yamaha stay stacked...Ducati with an all Italian effort...Suzuki keeps the Laverty connection, while creating a rivalry with Honda by way of Alex, and getting development from Hayden...Aprilia gets their GP experience through Baustista and Melandri, while having a (likely) lower class champ in Rabat...KTM stays Euro (and British), and teams up the two Finns (I think Ajo will be special)...and Kawi keeps the Sykes/Baz combo, and has a future stud in Rins.

Obviously, I had to leave out some great riders, and some of the choices are just filler, but a show with this much talent and potential storylines would be incredible to see...if not extremely expensive!

Ok, back to reality.

[civic_stylez]

Originally posted by japan_us


I've said it before: I'll always have a soft spot for Kawi. Hopefully they return in the near future.

Let's just hope that the new rules make it more appealing for more manufacturers to jump in, and more importantly, make for more competitive racing.

Imagine no open class, and just two factory bikes + two satellites from: Honda, Yamaha, Ducati, Suzuki, Aprilia, KTM and Kawi, meaning a massive 28 rider grid and likely no quality rider without a seat?

edit: I'll go further and dare to dream something along the lines of:

Honda: M. Marquez, Pedrosa, Miller, Redding
Yamaha: Rossi, Lorenzo, P. Espargaro, Vinales
Ducati: Dovi, Iannone, Giugliano, Fenati
Suzuki: E. Laverty, A. Marquez, Terol, Hayden
Aprilia: Bautista, Melandri, Rea, Rabat
KTM: Ajo, Kallio, Davies, Crutchlow
Kawi: Sykes, Baz, Rins, Zarco

Honda and Yamaha stay stacked...Ducati with an all Italian effort...Suzuki keeps the Laverty connection, while creating a rivalry with Honda by way of Alex, and getting development from Hayden...Aprilia gets their GP experience through Baustista and Melandri, while having a (likely) lower class champ in Rabat...KTM stays Euro (and British), and teams up the two Finns (I think Ajo will be special)...and Kawi keeps the Sykes/Baz combo, and has a future stud in Rins.

Obviously, I had to leave out some great riders, and some of the choices are just filler, but a show with this much talent and potential storylines would be incredible to see...if not extremely expensive!

Ok, back to reality.

I like where your head is at.

My one addition... 2 maybe 3 tire suppliers. Push the edge even farther. Mich, Dunlop and Bridgers... or maybe Pirelli's.

[japan_us]

^ Yes, definitely. Not 100% sure how to implement it, but give the teams a few more tire options. For the most part, riders aren't complaining about engine performance, brakes, etc. - they complain about the tires.

Also, let's throw in BMW too, to make room for guys like Bradl.

[Modelexis]

Wow, what a fucking massive error by Marqez.

How stupid can you be.
It's pouring rain, you're on slicks and your team mate has crashed and you carry on racing without a brain, then you crash yourself and lose the race.

Unbelievable.

[japan_us]

A. Espargaro and Vinales on the factory Suzukis next year - awesome! Stoked about Vinales stepping up. The kid's unreal.

[Go4Long]

Yeah, Vinales could be able to keep up with Marcquez. But sometimes the step up doesn't go as well as we'd hope.

I think with everything that is happening from a series standpoint, with two new factory options going, LCR going back up to 2 bikes, etc. Next year is going to be a REALLY good year in MotoGP.

[japan_us]

Originally posted by Go4Long
Yeah, Vinales could be able to keep up with Marcquez. But sometimes the step up doesn't go as well as we'd hope.

...

Too true, and the Suzuki will most likely be no match for the other factories, at least not for a few seasons.

I think the Miller jump to GP is just a rush job by Honda to get another Aussie in the premier class. The kid has potential, but I hope he's not going over his head by skipping Moto2, which IMO, is the best stepping stone to GP.

[Modelexis]

Marquez and Pedrosa couldn't catch Renzo last year in Motegi, are we in for a repeat this year?

Rossi had braking issues last year, maybe more of a threat this year?

[civic_stylez]

Originally posted by japan_us


Too true, and the Suzuki will most likely be no match for the other factories, at least not for a few seasons.

I think the Miller jump to GP is just a rush job by Honda to get another Aussie in the premier class. The kid has potential, but I hope he's not going over his head by skipping Moto2, which IMO, is the best stepping stone to GP.

I wouldnt rule them out too far though.. They have only been away from the game for a few seasons. They still have many years of experience. If they can work out the kinks and get the software to run smooth, I think they have a good shot at starting strong. (By strong i mean behind the top factory teams but ahead of the satellite teams. (and maybe ducati lol)

[japan_us]

^ Tough to say until Valencia, I suppose. Suzuki has always been the least transparent of the factories when it comes to development from the factory. For all we know, the GSX-RR is a beast already. Or, it could be exactly as the reported lap times have shown: a good distance behind the other factories.

Even the satellite teams run similar spec machines to the factory squad for a good portion of the season. It's even tighter now with the engine freeze. I just don't see the Suzuki troubling Tech 3 or LCR/M.VDS in terms of machinery. I do see a weaker rider in Smith, but Pol, Cal and Redding should still cross the line ahead of the Suzukis. Ducati has also shown decent gains this year, and their factory riders are quality, so I still expect them to be ahead.

My bet is that 2015 is a throw away year for development (since they won't have a freeze), with the main target being Top 10 results and finishing stronger than the Aprilias. Then in 2016, capitalize when the playing field is leveled by the new rules and tires.

Personally, I would love it if they were competitive from the get-go, but let's not forget that this is a brand that has produced only one win with 4-stroke machinery, and that was in the wet. They didn't exactly set the premier class on fire before they left, and haven't really done much in racing since then to suggest that they'll be noticeably better when they return.

I hope I'm wrong!

[civic_stylez]

^^ Normally I can offer some form of rebuttal or opinion but that is pretty spot on!

As long as the GP class is competitive, Im happy. Maybe just someday it will be on par with the Moto2 in terms of competitiveness but thats a dream in itself.

[Go4Long]

I've heard the announcers talking about miller on the Euro broadcasts as well...basically their thoughts are that because he's a fairly big kid he didn't really have the right body type to be competitive in Moto2 anyway, and may have just been swallowed up in to nothingness.

As for Suzuki. Don't kid yourself, I don't think they would be coming back if they weren't ready to be there. Do I think they'll win over honda and yamaha? probably not, do I think they'll be competitive? more so than Ducati. Aprilia's WSBK machine was always thought to be closer to a MotoGP bike than a real WSBK bike, so I think they'll bring a solid package as well, but I think it will be the closest non-open class machine to their street bikes (which is both a plus and a minus)

[japan_us]

^ Nobody is suggesting that Suzuki is there to embarrass themselves, but unless your definition of “competitive” is 10-15th, then it’s not “kidding yourself” to believe that Suzuki will take this year with a focus on development.

Honda is providing factory spec machines to both Cal and Redding. That makes four factory spec bikes, plus all the Open Class bikes get the same motor minus the seamless.

Yamaha has always provided Tech 3 with similar machines to those used by the factory team (at least to start the year). The riders and Herve can attest to that.

As for Ducati, Dovi is 5th in the standings, right after the four aliens. His points combined with Iannone are 234. In comparison, the Tech 3 team is only at 193, and the satellite Hondas (if you can even call Bradl’s that, since it’s factory spec) are sitting at 160. The Ducati totals could be higher if Iannone began the year with the factory team, but even if you substitute his points for Cal’s (who has had a horrible season), they are still the third best squad with 205 points.

Basically, what you’re telling me is that Suzuki will be more competitive than a team that is ahead of all but the Repsol and Movistar teams. Pol is a world champion, and on a good bike. Bradl is a world champion, and on one of the best bikes possible. Even Bautista is a former world champion, and has had good showings despite having to run a Showa/Nissin combo. Ducati is, at worst, equal to these combos, and the results say that they're in fact superior. And yet Suzuki will somehow be more competitive than them using A. Espargaro and a very green Vinales? I’m a huge Vinales fan, but the attitude around the premier class is that your first year is intended for learning – how the carbon disks work, how to optimize the Bridgestones, where the RPs on track are, and more or less just staying on the damn thing.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong if you believe that Suzuki will be more competitive than Ducati – we’re all entitled to our opinion. But, you’d be going off of gut instinct, and nothing more. Because the reality is that the Ducatis are actually running quite strong at the moment, and due to not having a freeze, have been able to improve their bike while putting it up against the actual competition every race weekend. In other words, we know how they stack up. What we don’t know is where Suzuki falls, both in terms of pace and development. Last I read, their times were 2-3 seconds off, and they don’t even have a seamless yet! Ask any of the factories if they could hack off 2-3 seconds in less than a year, and they'd say you're crazy. That's what Suzuki would have to do: they would have to introduce a machine that is within a tenth or two of the factory Hondas and Yamahas to be ahead of the Ducatis, and I just don’t believe that their machine is at that stage yet. Based on the rules, logic says that we would have seen this machine by now if it were that competitive.

So, 4 Hondas, 4 Yamahas, at least 2 Ducatis, a podium winning NGM bike with Bradl as the pilot, and improved Open Class Hondas with the likes of Miller and former champs Hayden and Aoyama … can you see why I believe that Top 10s would be considered excellent results for Suzuki next year, and why a better benchmark would be the Aprilias? That means race results in the 10-15 range.

This is not a knock on Suzuki, nor a suggestion that they’re not there to compete. It’s just not their time yet, and there is nothing – zero, zilch – that suggests otherwise.

Again, I could be wrong, but gun to my head there’s no way I take Suzuki over Ducati next year.

[Modelexis]

Some behind the scenes drama after the Aragon race, lmao

[Modelexis]

http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/moto...gi/#more-73511

Given Marc Marquez’s dominance of the 2014 MotoGP championship, the question is not if, but when he will wrap up his second title in a row.

His original aim had been to win the title in front of his home crowd at Aragon, but crashes at Misano, and then Aragon, put an end to that idea.

With a massive lead in the championship, Marquez heads to the flyaway races with his primary aim shifted from winning at all costs, to making sure he returns to Spain and the final round of the series with the title already safely under his belt.

Motegi is the first opportunity for Marquez to take the title, and wrapping it up there would please his HRC bosses, as the circuit is owned by Honda and operated by a subsidiary.

But it is not a simple question of turning up and finishing, the reigning champion will have to ensure his rivals do not gain too much back on him if he is to lift the crown there.

He has a 75 point lead over his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, a 78 point advantage over Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi, and a 90 point lead over the second factory Yamaha of Jorge Lorenzo. So what does Marquez need to do to win the title?

The easiest rival to eliminate will be Jorge Lorenzo. Marquez can afford to give away 15 points to Lorenzo, and would still be world champion even if Lorenzo won the remaining four races.

Finishing sixth or better would be enough to rule out any chance of Lorenzo taking the crown, while an 11th place finish would be good enough if Lorenzo finishes 2nd, or 15th spot if Lorenzo finishes 3rd. If Lorenzo finishes 4th or worse, his chances of the championship have gone.

Valentino Rossi is closer: Marquez can only afford to give away 3 points to Rossi if he is to eliminate the Italian from the championship race. If Rossi wins, or is 2nd, and finishes ahead of Marquez, the Italian will still have a mathematical shot at the title.

If Rossi finishes 3rd, Marquez must finish in 4th; if the Italian is 4th, then Marquez must finish 6th. If Valentino Rossi crosses the line in 5th place or lower, Marc Marquez must finish within three positions of the Yamaha man. If Rossi finishes 13th or worse, his championship is over.

The mathematics for Dani Pedrosa are simple: if Marc Marquez finishes ahead of him, his title shot is gone. Even if Pedrosa won the last three races, and Marc Marquez were to miss Australia, Sepang and Valencia through injury or illness, Marquez would be champion if he beats Pedrosa at Motegi.

If Pedrosa does beat Marquez at Motegi, then the difference between him and Marquez will define the challenge facing Pedrosa in the remaining races.

Of course, if Marquez wants to keep his chances of wrapping up the title at Motegi in his own hands, his simplest course of action is to win the race.

If he wins, his lead becomes insuperable for any of his three rivals. The only man he can allow to win the race is Jorge Lorenzo, and if Marquez finishes 2nd to Lorenzo, he will also be sure of the title. In short he needs to win, or to finish ahead of Pedrosa, Rossi and Lorenzo.

The unspoken assumption in all of this is that for any of his other rivals to become champion, Marquez cannot score any points in the last three races, and the rival who would be champ needs to win the last three straight.

The championship is a largely theoretical exercise. But this is motorcycle racing, and you never know what might happen. As Nicky Hayden always says: “That’s why we line up on Sunday.”