MotoGP Blog

The champ is about to be formally inaugurated in Spain, the season’s top prize decided weeks ago. Is there much to be fought for in the final round?

You can bet John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen will be battling for all they are worth. Hopper has the upper hand on the Aussie by four points, and Marco Melandri holds fourth place in the rankings, just one point ahead of Hopkins:

4. Marco Melandri (174)
5. John Hopkins (173)
6. Chris Vermeulen (169)

These three are often found in the same region of the field, so expect some fireworks from all of them as they battle to beat off all-comers to claim the 4th spot. Don’t rule out Capirex in 7th (155) from making a late bid to upset the apple cart.

Rossi will be fending off the attentions of Dani Pedrosa, although a single point will see The Doctor seal his place as first loser. A more bitter pill for him to swallow there is not.

There is another scrap down towrds 11th spot with Barros (anonymous all season) de Puniet (due a crash), and Elias (random is as random does) closely grouped. The events of the race could see these guys well spread out int he standings, or more tightly grouped than ever before.

It’s also the final race in MotoGP for Carlos Checa, Alex Barros and Makoto Tamada - I suggest a sustained burnout in front of the main grandstand, gentlemen, as a fitting way to say goodbye.

Anyone going to Valencia will be there for the parties and atmosphere as much as the racing itself. All-night boozing, bikes without silencers, indeed engines without bikes attached, revving into the night, the racing (and sleep) for once in the calendar takes a secondary role.

Enjoy it, as it is a long time before the next one.

If Honda create their 2008 bike with pneumatic valves, they will be the last of the Japanese manufacturers in MotoGP to make the change. They have showed faith with tried and trusted sprung valves throughout the 990cc era, but in 2007 their riders and their results are telling them that they need to improve the peak power characteristics of the engine. Given the engine capacity is fixed at 800cc, more power can only come from higher revs. Honda’s current engine tops out somewhere near 18,800, and with good reason.

The physical limit of sprung valves is around 19,000 rpm when valve “float” becomes a problem. To push the engine revs higher to develop more power, this issue needs to be addressed. Look at the competition: Kawasaki have designed in pneumatics from the start with their 800cc engine. Suzuki have had pneumatics since the last year of the 990cc bikes in 2006, and Yamaha have introduced them late on this year.

Suzuki has had the advantage of developing their system when they were less crucial on the lower-revving 990cc bikes (16,500 rpm). Now these systems are a critical component in making the 225bhp plus that the manufacturers squeeze out of the smaller motors.

Ducati have gone their own way with a desmodronic system - the valves are opened and closed by a complex cam-and-lever system in the same way as their road bikes. This system is paying dividends now with the higher revs required by these engines. Could Honda develop their own desmo system? Without doubt they could, but this is very unlikely - no Honda road bikes use a desmo system and Ducati have been very successful at making this their own USP.

Honda will go pneumatic in 2008 - perhaps even the bike tested after Valencia will have a test pneumatic system fitted. They have to in order to improve on a dismal 2007.

The proposal for a control tyre has been withdrawn, and the paddock breathed a collective sigh of relief (except Team Roberts who would actually have rather liked a control tyre to bring them closer to other teams) after yesterday’s announcement.

My predictions have so far been proven correct (just don’t read the bit about Elais re-signing for Gresini) although it is still not clear which tyre Rossi will be on next year. Some news sources are claiming that he will be on Bridgestones, that it’s a done deal, in fact that it was essential in getting the control tyre proposal rescinded. I still cannot believe Rossi will turn his back on years of tyre data, and the input of Lorenzo’s side of the garage, not to mention Tech 3 input from Edwards and Toseland. For this reason, I still believe Rossi will be on Michelins next year. Common sense was uttered by Jerry Burgess recently when he commented that you don’t turn your back on a partner after a few lousy races, you dig in and fight back. That’s what Rossi needs to do: to focus and to stop throwing his toys out of his pram. And get more power from the Yamaha, but that is a different fight.

The events of the last few days can not have left anyone under any illusions over who decides which riders get to sit on a Honda on the MotoGP grid. It is Honda and only Honda. You want to decide who rides the bikes you buy from us Mr. Satellite Team Manager? No, no, no, let us help you with that decision.

Let’s look at the recent speculation around Biaggi getting a Honda Gresini ride. No sooner had Gresini himself leaked the news that Max was in preliminary discussions with him, than the HRC MD Mr. Yasutake himself proclaimed that Honda were interested in bringing on young Japanese talent. The not-so-subtle sub-text was that Gresini should sign Nakano, and on no account Biaggi. The funny side of this is that Shinya, while sprightly for his 30 years, could not be accused of being young. However, Honda wants a Japanese rider on a Japanese bike, and this is what they got just four short days later.

MCN report that Gresini would have preferred 250cc star Hiroshi Aoyama, who would have met Honda’s two primary requirements, being both young and Japanese, but it was not to be. Shinya must have been a faithful Honda servant to get another year to prove himself after this disastrous season for JiT and Konica Minolta Honda, and Aoyama can wait another year for his big break. In the same way as Honda are loyal to Nakano, they are firm in their rejection of Biaggi - it is really two sides of the same coin.

Honda are nothing if not consistent.

The 2008 paddock is almost finalised now, with the recent JiR Team Scot aanouncement. Here is the latest line-up:

Repsol Honda
Nicky Hayden - signed 2007, 2008.
Dani Pedrosa - signed for 2008, 2009.

Fiat Yamaha
Valentino Rossi - signed for 2007, 2008.
Jorge Lorenzo - signed for 2008, 2009.

Ducati
Casey Stoner - signed for 2008, 2009.
Marco Melandri - signed for 2008, 2009.

Suzuki
Chris Vermeulen - signed for 2008.
Loris Capirossi - signed for 2008.

Kawasaki
John Hopkins - signed for 2008, 2009.
Ant West - signed for 2008.

Honda Gresini
Alex de Angelis - signed for 2008 with an option for 2009.
Shinya Nakano - signed for 2008 with an option for 2009.

Tech 3
Colin Edwards - signed for 2008 with retirement from MotoGP in mind.
James Toseland - signed for 2008.

Pramac d’Antin
Sylvain Guintoli - signed for 2008.
Tony Elias - signed for 2008.

Honda LCR
Randy de Puniet - signed for 2008, 2009.

JiR Team Scot
Andrea Dovizioso - signed for 2008.

Team Roberts
Team future still to be announced. Possibly running one or more Ducatis if sponsorship can be agreed.

Nicky Hayden was running a revised fairing for the Honda in Malaysia, one which provides him with a larger ‘bubble’ in which to hide when riding at speed. Complaining of buffeting from the minimalist standard fairing on the 800cc Honda from the early rounds, the revised version was ready for him at Phillip Island, but the decision was taken not to run it in the race due to the gusty nature of the wind at the Australian track.

Above is Hayden at Catalunya earlier this season. The fairing has a minimal frontal area and the spars either side of the screen are narrow. Also the cutaways in front of the handlebars are deep and clearly reveal all of the Haydens hands on the bars. The bike looks small for Hayden as a result and this mismatch has led to accusations that the bike was designed with Pedrosa in mind and not Hayden.

This shot is of Hayden at the recent Malaysian race, with the new fairing. The screen spars are noticeably wider and the cutaways less deep, affording Hayden some protection from the wind which is now directed up and over his shoulders when tucked in, rather than directly into them.

It appears Honda have been experimenting with this minimalist fairing all season and have tried to make the bike as small and narrow as possible to make it’s path through the air easier - undoubtedly this is the engineers solution to maximising top speed and maneouverability around corners. By making these changes for Hayden, they would seem to have realised that the rider and the rider’s comfort is a key factor in making a bike go fast over the duration of a race. It is not simply an engineering problem to be solved, but a human one as well.

A tenth victory for Casey Stoner from another faultless performance was the order of the day. Leading from the start again, Stoner created and then maintained a gap of one to two seconds throughout the race. There was an impression that he could have gone faster if he needed to - the medium Bridgestone rear he was running (most of the field were on a harder compound because of the heat) was a small gamble but one which more than paid off with his lap times consistently fast - his fastest race lap would have been good for 4th place on the grid in qualifying.

Stars of the show were Kawasaki. An excellent fourth position for de Puniet who managed a good start and avoided crashing, displaying that he can mix it with the best on the right day. Ant West ruined his chances of a career-best result when he lined up in the 250cc grid slot instead of the MotoGP slot, an error which the stewards decided to treat as a jump start. Needless to say he was obviously gutted after the race and won’t be making that mistake again. The Kawasaki looked strong throughout the weekend and no doubt Hopkins will have watched the progress of the green bikes with interest this weekend.
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Despite the forecasts, the session remained dry throughout, at least giving the riders an opportunity to adjust to the new tarmac and gain some confidence in the grip levels around the circuit. Only one rider went down during the session - no prizes for guessing who: de Puniet - but this was in the first ten minutes of the session and he was able to quickly recover to the pits and resume.

Despite the resurfacing, the track is bumpy in parts - watch the bikes as they enter the final hairpin and you will see the surface ripples upsetting the composure of the bikes. This weekend so far has been about who is able to adjust to these new conditions most quickly.
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It’s wet and very humid at Sepang. This combined with the new tarmac is causing some very cautious laps to be put in by the 125cc riders. At the start of the session, nobody is getting anywhere near a knee-down and the riders look very tentative. According to the Eurosport commentary, Hopkins in the morning warm-up was complaining about how slippy the final corner was in the dry!.

The Eurosport commentators have had a look at the new tarmac and report lots of tar and few stones in it, which means the surface is very smooth in places. This does not help wet tyres dissipate standing water, meaning adhesion is much reduced. The very humid weather is also helping to keep the track wet despite the lack of rain, and no dry line looks like appearing at the moment, with 15 minutes of the 125cc session left. Traction control on the MotoGP bikes will be working overtime this morning.

So the news is that Biaggi has been dropped by the Suzuki Alstare WSB team as they are having trouble finding sponsors, and Max has been approached by Fausto Gresini to see if he wished to ride his satellite Honda bike back in MotoGP - with some success too as Gresini is saying they will meet to discuss the matter further. Max famously stomped out of the Honda factory team in 2005, so to return to a Honda team in any form may be too much for his Italian pride and immaculately manicured beard to bear. Of course this could be something of a negotiating tactic on the part of Gresini - Tony Elias is the current holder of this seat and has yet to have his future decided in MotoGP. Perhaps this will tip him into signing, provided he wishes to remain in the premier class of course.

Secondly, Rossi is apparently pushing for Bridgestones for 2008 as the tyre saga rolls on. It would be madness for Rossi to make this move. Tech 3 are planned to switch to Michelin rubber for the very reason of providing more tyre test data for the Yamaha squad, and Toseland and Edwards are expecting near-factory support for their bikes if not carbon-copies, making the data relevant and valid. If Rossi takes Bridgestones he’ll be starting from zero data with nobody to help him gather it - ludicrous. It will not happen. Some of this saga will finally come to an end tomorrow (Friday) when there is an announcement regarding the tyre situation for the series. Expect the tyre allowance to be increased for each team, but the teams and suppliers to remain largely the same with no single riders (such as Pedrosa or Rossi) switching tyre makers.