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MotoGP
May 23, 2013 8:41:30 GMT 8
Post by Jack 900SS on May 23, 2013 8:41:30 GMT 8
Nakamoto: ‘The Honda RC is delayed, but it will be good’
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
HRC Executive Vice President Shuhei Nakamoto speaks with motogp.com, explaining that the bike to be offered to private teams from next year is now in the final stages of its development and on the verge of being track tested.
HRC is currently still developing the Honda RC, which the Japanese marque is looking to offer to private outfits from the start of 2014. The machine will offer a level of power close to that of the factory bikes, but will not be fitted with pneumatic valves while gearboxes will be conventional as opposed to the ‘seamless’ systems of Repsol Honda Team. On top of this, the fuel tank capacity will be 24 litres in comparison with 20 on the official bikes and 12 engines will be available per season. The bike will run on Showa suspension.
“So far we have been working with the engine on the dyno and, once it reaches the performance we expect, we will begin the next phase which is focussed on putting the bike on the track,” Nakamoto explains to motogp.com.
“Regarding the matter of the programme having been delayed by almost a month, we are trying to shorten deadlines. From the data we have so far, I think it will be a good bike, but we must continue to work to achieve optimum levels of reliability and durability that will satisfy our customers.”
Suppliers play an important role in the development of the new bike, as Honda works closely with companies within its conglomerate - not least Nissin and Showa.
“For Nissin, which forms part of our group, development of callipers and brake master cylinders is very important and MotoGP is the ideal platform by which to develop their product,” Nakamoto continues. “The same applies to other enterprises when it comes to suspension, engines and so on. Nissin took new parts to Le Mans; the idea being that it is always (Stefan) Bradl who tries them first and, when it confirmed by him that there is an improvement, they are run by (Alvaro) Bautista who in-turn is responsible for the development of Showa suspension.”
Nakamoto also reviewed the performances of his riders following the first four races of the 2013 season: “I expected Marc (Marquez) to win a race, although I never imagined it would be the second one. That was a very pleasant surprise. Dani (Pedrosa), after failing to win in Qatar, has since regained his best strengths and won in Jerez and Le Mans. I hope it stays that way and that he can string together a good winning streak as he did last year. Regarding Stefan, he has fallen a lot and perhaps too much. We will work with the (LCR Honda MotoGP) team to ensure a change in fortunes and help him finish races.”
Nakamoto adds that his relationships with riders extend to those no longer competing in the sport, as for instance he is in regular contact with double world champion Casey Stoner who departed MotoGP™ at the end of last year. “Yes, I have talked and exchanged emails with Casey, but we basically just talked about his V8 Supercar races in Australia,” Nakamoto begins to sum up. “He is enjoying them and I think he’ll be there for a while.”
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MotoGP
May 23, 2013 8:48:27 GMT 8
Post by Jack 900SS on May 23, 2013 8:48:27 GMT 8
Edwards goes 'old school' with no TC
22 May 2013
“I knew I had to do the race 'old school', which is no problem, just have to do everything with the wrist” – Colin Edwards.
Colin Edwards went back to pre-Traction Control days during the early stages of Sunday's wet French MotoGP, when a problem with the electronics left the Texan to 'race with his wrist'.
FTR-Kawasaki star Edwards, who teaches bike control for aspiring racers at his Texas Tornado Boot Camp, explained:
“I had a good start and in the first lap it just kind of started coming around on me that I had no traction control taking over and that had me a little nervous. At that point I knew I had to do the race 'old school', which is no problem, just have to do everything with the wrist.
“Had a couple of hairy moment the first two laps and then once everything started coming in and the line started to dry up I just put my head down and when I started hearing the electronics I pushed as hard as I could.
“It got to a point, and I think everybody was in a similar boat, in which the soft [wet] tyres on a drying track was very hard on the tyres, the last 12 laps you couldn't really do anything other than staying on the bike.
“We qualified 17th and finished 16th but at the end of the day we have some good information for rain setup. We haven't spent much time in the rain with this bike and now we have some information to go back to.”
Italian team-mate Claudio Corti was unable to finish due to an engine problem.
Forward Racing is one of the privateer teams being linked to use of the Yamaha M1 engines next season.
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MotoGP
May 23, 2013 9:33:45 GMT 8
Post by Jack 900SS on May 23, 2013 9:33:45 GMT 8
Should Cal Crutchlow get Valentino Rossi's M1 next year?
MCN General news. 21 May 2013 10:13
"After his excellent showing last weekend at Le Mans, the entire world is talking about Cal Crutchlow. But at the minute he's still stuck with no factory ride for 2014, especially if he wants to stay with Yamaha.
Is it time for the factory to reward him, and bump a poorly-performing Valentino Rossi from his factory M1?"
"that'll put the cat amongst the pigeons" ;D Shirac
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MotoGP
Jun 4, 2013 11:04:47 GMT 8
Post by Jack 900SS on Jun 4, 2013 11:04:47 GMT 8
Happy End for Anthony West after clutch problems
QMMF Racing Team rider Anthony West struggled with an over-heating clutch at the start of the Italian Grand Prix and dropped back from the middle of the Moto2 field to the last position. With his never-give-up attitude, the 31-year-old Australian clawed his way back when the clutch cooled down, making up position by position to reach 20th place in the end. Despite the poor result, West was still happy after the race, as he finally found the right feeling for his revised Speed Up bike that had been equipped with a new chassis for the Mugello weekend.
Anthony West – 20th place “I had a decent start and I think I was in about 18th position by the second chicane. I passed another rider going into the next corner and I went open throttle, but then the clutch started slipping. I tried to push, but there was no power from the bike.
Here at Mugello, they held the red light longer than normal at the start, so the clutch overheated. It seems strange to me, because I have never had this problem ever before in my life. Apparently, the clutch was new, but I think there must be something wrong with it, because it is not normal that only one start, just holding the clutch a little bit longer than normal, should create such a big problem. It’s really disappointing. But I am happy with the lap times that I did towards the end of the race, when the clutch finally cooled down and I was able to get back into a rhythm. I should have done these times in qualifying! But at least it’s promising that the new chassis works well. I started to feel good with the bike and to get confident, that’s why I was able to drop my lap times. I have been a bit confused lately, with changing so many things, but now I’m quite happy. If we continue with this bike for the next races, our results will improve!”
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MotoGP
Jun 13, 2013 6:33:30 GMT 8
Post by Jack 900SS on Jun 13, 2013 6:33:30 GMT 8
Denning optimistic over Suzuki’s return to MotoGP
12 June 2013
“They said the bike is beautifully put together. It's a prototype race bike [and] not a prototype of the race bike. It really looks like the finished article, very neat, really tidy, and nice to work on” – Paul Denning.
Former Suzuki MotoGP team boss Paul Denning has heard positive comments about the factory's new grand prix machine, which will make its public debut in Monday's Barcelona test.
However Denning warns that the task of running with Honda and Yamaha at the front of the MotoGP field remains a “big, big ask.”
Suzuki will make a welcome return to the grand prix paddock when they unveil their new 1000cc prototype, believed to feature an inline four-cylinder engine, with Randy de Puniet on board at Monday's official test at the Montmeló circuit.
Denning was involved in running the factory team from 2005 to the close of 2011, when Suzuki withdrew from MotoGP citing the financial crisis.
Although Denning is now working in the World Superbike paddock - running Leon Camier and Jules Cluzel in his FIXI Crescent Suzuki team - the Englishman has also been in contact with Suzuki regarding certain aspects of the grand prix project.
“I'm not directly involved in the project at all but I've helped Suzuki with recommending certain key personnel that were with the project before and are there now,” Denning told Crash.net at last weekend's Portimao WSBK round.
“They said the bike is beautifully put together. It's a prototype race bike [and] not a prototype of the race bike. It really looks like the finished article, very neat, really tidy, and nice to work on.
“I don't know what the lap time was from Motegi as everyone's been very professional but there were lots of smiley faces and the bike as a starting point doesn't look so bad.”
de Puniet flew to Japan to test the prototype at Honda's Motegi circuit between the French and Italian MotoGP rounds, completing around 100 laps over two days.
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MotoGP
Jun 16, 2013 8:27:44 GMT 8
Post by Jack 900SS on Jun 16, 2013 8:27:44 GMT 8
Dorna CEO explains plans for future of MotoGP™
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta spoke to motogp.com having met with team managers from the premier class in Catalunya, explaining the provisional plans for the 2014 and 2015 seasons of MotoGP™.
He explained, “Last year we increased the grid from 21 to 24 riders in MotoGP, with three independent teams joining. Then there were additional requests for places from new manufacturers such as Suzuki and from further independent teams.”
“We’ve decided that the only way new manufacturers can enter the championship is by reaching an agreement with an existing team or by buying a place from an existing team. We agreed on reasonable pricing but no-one wants to sell their place in the premier class.”
The Dorna CEO continued, “Therefore, we’ve decided that in order to set-up next year’s grid the current teams will stay in place with their existing benefits, such as prize money, travel allowances and tyres costs and that we will accept up to four new grid entries.”
“In 2015, the first 22 teams will get prize money, then the teams placed 23rd and 24th will get some benefits and the teams below that in the classification will not get any of the prize money.”
Mr Ezpeleta also spoke about the potential return of Suzuki to MotoGP, saying, “We know that Suzuki have tested at Motegi and they are ready to test in Barcelona and Aragon, but we have yet to receive an official proposal from them.”
Regarding tyre costs for next year, Mr Ezpeleta stated, “At present the agreement with Bridgestone is to supply to 24 teams so new teams would need to assume tyre costs as part of their budgets.”
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MotoGP
Jun 20, 2013 8:04:44 GMT 8
Post by Jack 900SS on Jun 20, 2013 8:04:44 GMT 8
New Suzuki MotoGP bike has 'really good potential' 18 June 2013
'I need some time to adapt my riding style, but I think this bike has a really good potential' - Randy de Puniet
Randy de Puniet feels Suzuki's new MotoGP racer has 'really good potential' after the French rider set a best lap time only three-quarters-of-a-second slower than Jorge Lorenzo at the Catalunya test.
The Frenchman lapped in a time of 1m 42.676s on the as yet unnamed inline four-cylinder machine, which was good enough for eighth place out of the 19 riders present.
Afterwards, de Puniet told a press gathering at the Spanish circuit he had yet to 'push the limits' or 'find any problems' with the machine, which was making its public debut on Monday.
“We worked like we did in Motegi, step by step, and the base of the bike was quite good in the beginning,” said de Puniet, who has been signed to help with development of the Suzuki alongside his race commitments for the Aspar team.
“We needed to adjust the gearbox because it was the first time here, but I'm satisfied with the level of the bike and I didn't touch the limits again. That's why Aragon [later this week] will be a good test because we will have two full days. We only had one day here and we are already at a good base.
“I really hope to continue this work and to find some problems! Because at this moment I don't have any problems. I like the riding position and feel very comfortable on the bike. It is easy to do many consistent laps. The base of the bike is already at a high level and I like the front feeling, even if we need to work to gain some corner speed.
“We need to adjust the traction control, like everybody, but like I said the base is at a high level. We never had any technical problems and the bike never stopped on the track and this is good.
“There is more power [than his Aspar CRT] and when you pick up the bike you feel more power and this is better for my riding style. I will try to follow someone in Aragon to have a better idea about the performance of the engine,” he added. “I like the power delivery. It feels like a real prototype engine.”
de Puniet likened the performance of the new 1000cc machine to Suzuki's previous 800cc bike, which he rode at the 2011 Valencia test - just before Suzuki confirmed its MotoGP ithdraw.
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MotoGP
Aug 8, 2013 8:04:01 GMT 8
Post by Jack 900SS on Aug 8, 2013 8:04:01 GMT 8
Crash.net's updated contract list following confirmation that Cal Crutchlow will join Ducati and that Pol Espargaro will take the Englishman's place at Tech 3.
All the existing factory team rides have now been taken for next year, while a few satellite team seats are still to be confirmed.
By contrast, almost all the privateer rides - Karel Abraham will surely remain at his father's Cardion AB team - still look to be available, with many non-factory teams also yet to confirm their 2014 machinery.
Suzuki has delayed its MotoGP return until 2015...
2014 Factory MotoGP team riders: Jorge Lorenzo SPA - Factory Yamaha rider until end of 2014. Valentino Rossi ITA - Factory Yamaha until the end of 2014. Dani Pedrosa SPA - Repsol Honda rider until the end of 2014. Marc Marquez SPA - Repsol Honda rider until the end of 2014. Andrea Dovizioso ITA - Ducati Team until the end of 2014. Cal Crutchlow GBR - Ducati Team until the end of 2015. Yet to sign? Nicky Hayden USA - Ducati Team until the end of 2013.
2014 Satellite MotoGP team riders: Pol Espargaro SPA - Tech 3 in 2014, Yamaha until the end of 2015. Bradley Smith GBR - Tech 3 Yamaha until the end of 2014. Alvaro Bautista SPA - Gresini Honda until the end of 2014. Ben Spies USA - Pramac/Ducati until the end of 2014. Yet to sign? Stefan Bradl GER - LCR Honda/HRC until the end of 2014? Andrea Iannone ITA - Pramac/Ducati until the end of 2013.
Non-factory (Privateer) MotoGP riders: All riders thought to be currently unsigned for 2014. Colin Edwards USA - Forward Racing. Claudio Corti ITA - Forward Racing. Karel Abraham CZE - Cardion AB. Randy de Puniet FRA - Aspar. Alex Espargaro SPA - Aspar. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN - Avintia Blusens. Hector Barbera SPA - Avintia Blusens. Danilo Petrucci ITA - IodaRacing. Lukas Pesek CZE - IodaRacing. Bryan Staring AUS - Honda Gresini. Michael Laverty GBR - Paul Bird Motorsport. Yonny Hernandez COL - Paul Bird Motorsport.
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MotoGP
Dec 3, 2013 14:30:00 GMT 8
Post by Jack 900SS on Dec 3, 2013 14:30:00 GMT 8
FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix 2014 provisional calendar Date Grand Prix Circuit 23 March Qatar* Doha/Losail 13 April Americas Austin 27 April Argentina Termas de Rio Hondo 04 May Spain(STC) Jerez de la Frontera 18 May France Le Mans 1 June Italy Mugello 15 June Catalunya Barcelona- Catalunya 28 June Netherlands** TT Assen 13 July Germany Sachsenring 10 August Indianapolis GP Indianapolis 17 August Czech Republic Brno 31 August Great Britain Silverstone 14 September Misano 21 September Aragon MotorLand Aragon 28 September Brazil(STH) Brasilia 12 October Malaysia Sepang 19 October Japan Motegi 26 October Australia Phillip Island 09 November Valencia Ricardo Tormo-Valencia
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MotoGP
Oct 21, 2015 12:27:10 GMT 8
Post by Fred Ayres on Oct 21, 2015 12:27:10 GMT 8
Do you guys organise trips to Phillip Island. I just came back ,but I was in a Yamaha tent I'd rather be a Ducati tent.I used to be a member of the DOCWA, but got smashed by a car on my SS. Spent about 2 1/2 years in hospitals and rehab,still a Ducati fan !
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MotoGP
Oct 21, 2015 12:30:34 GMT 8
Post by Fred Ayres on Oct 21, 2015 12:30:34 GMT 8
Do you guys organise trips to Phillip Island. I just came back ,but I was in a Yamaha tent I'd rather be a Ducati tent.I used to be a member of the DOCWA, but got smashed by a car on my SS. Spent about 2 1/2 years in hospitals and rehab,still a Ducati fan !
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