MotoGP Blog

Nobuatsu Aoki will run the 2008 Suzuki GSV-R at Sepang as a wildcard rider to test the bike in full race conditions. The bike was first on display at Motegi this year, and MCN report that the bike sports a re-worked engine, significant fairing improvements and an exposed exhaust system.
The bike does indeed appear to be a significant re-working of the 800cc engine, with additional cooling now visible in the fairing in the two vents cut into it for the oil and engine cooling. I would expect the exhaust system to be tidied up a little before we see the bike in warm-up at Sepang, but the bike would look to be a significant improvement on the 2007 machine which itself was no slouch.

Toby Moody reports in Autosport that an unnamed tyre manufacturer (suspected to be Bridgestone) ran a Suzuki WSB bike with MotoGP tyres fitted in Malaysia recently, and that the tyres lasted just five laps due to the abrasion of the new surface. The last official MotoGP testing was back in February, before the new surface was laid so the usefulness of the tyre data the teams have from this session is limited.

The resurfacing of the track has just been given the nod by the FIM, but given this news the teams will turn up there this week uncertain about the correct choice of tyre. Historically, Yamaha and Michelin have always done well in Sepang, with Rossi winning from Capirossi last year and Yamaha winning three from eight GPs held here on Michelins.

The circuit has plenty of contrasts - four hairpins counter several sections requiring fast changes in direction. It is also usually hot and humid, so very different from Phillip Island last week. The current the forecast is for rain throughout the weekend, which may mean an easier tyre selection for the teams if it proves to be the case, but if it stays dry…

If you have the opportunity to watch today’s MotoGP race at Phillip Island again, pay special attention to the performances of Capirossi and Melandri. Remember Capirossi has been turfed out of Ducati to make way for Melandri to join the team in 2008 from Gresini Honda, while Capirossi makes his way to Suzuki next year to replace Hopkins.

The race for these two riders was to unfold very differently. Melandri gets a brilliant start from 12th place on the grid, after being decidedly mediocre in practice and warm up, achieving 7th by the end of the first lap. Capirossi maintains his 5th place from the start line.

Melandri continues his charge through the field, flying past other riders: 6th on lap 2; 5th on lap 3 overtaking Capirossi; 3rd on lap 4, passing Pedrosa, where he then runs between Rossi and Pedrosa for three laps.

On lap 7, Pedrosa takes Melandri back, and his race starts to turn for the worst. He is slower than the leaders by a 10th here and there, and begins to run wide at some of the slower corners, particularly Lukey Heights as the bikes go light over the brow of the hill. Meanwhile, Capirossi has been holding station, consistently lapping slower than the leaders but not by much. He is well clear of Alex Baros in 7th place.
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The Phillip Island race did not go to plan for many. A race of surprises and upsets for just about everyone but Casey Stoner who turned in his usual faultless performance to lead from the first lap to the last.

The start from Stoner was blinding from 3rd place to get the holeshot. Hayden also had a blinding start and ran with Stoner for the first laps, with Rossi, Pedrosa and Capirossi following. Melandri also had a cracking start, jumping from 12th to 4th.

As Stoner turned in lap after lap in the lead, all the action was behind him. Pedrosa, Rossi, Melandri and Capirossi duelling for 3rd place. Hayden maintained station before his engine began to fail, eventually causing him to retire. His reaction was similar to that of Estoril last year when Pedrosa took him out which to me means he thought he had a real chance of the victory.

Melandri’s tyres began to fade, dropping him well down the field by the end of the race, while Capirossi moved steadily past Pedrosa and Rossi into second place.

Ultimately a worthy ninth victory for Stoner, the first Aussie to win the Australian GP since Mick Doohan in 1998. A welcome return to form with Capirossi looking like his old self at last. The 1-2 for Ducati also sealed the Constructors and Team championships for them.

In the end the race was a reflection of Ducati’s season as a whole. They got the entire package right and showed the rest of the field the way home.

Three things were notable from the warm-up today:

1. Stoner fastest with a 1:39.9 for the majority of the session, putting in a 1:30.860 right at the end of the session. Nobody else came close.
2. The weather was good, windy but sunny and dry and no sign of the showers that threatened.
3. Pedrosa’s launch control failed on a practice start at the end of the session. When he dumped the clutch, it gripped and threw the front wheel up in the air. We were given views of a rather bemused and embarrassed Pedrosa dropping the bike after almost getting hit in the face by the top yolk. Will he have confidence in it for the race?

The race is looking like a Pedrosa/Stoner battle. Yamaha are not really on the pace, especially Edwards, and are apparently not running the pneumatic-valved engine this weekend. In reality, the circuit is such that the engine never reaches the high revs where the pneumatic valves are beneficial. According to Burgess they have continued development of the standard engine at the same time so performance is very similar here.

According to Autosport, the Dorna boss has hinted that he was playing devil’s advocate by suggesting a control tyre for MotoGP was the way forward. His actions have also, apparently, caused the tyre constructors to step forward and improve the situation, and he now states that

The decision that will be taken by the GP Commission next Saturday ahead of the Malaysian race is still uncertain, but at this point it’s more likely that things will stay as they are now.

Perhaps this is the case. Or, perhaps Dorna have realised that in the face of protests from the tyre companies (all of them against the idea), the teams (pretty much all deriding the idea as a knee-jerk response to a few poor races) and the riders (only Pedrosa and Rossi seem to be in favour) they effectively had to back down.

Rossi will know this, and his comments today regarding how he wants Bridgestones have to be aimed at getting a rise out of Michelin. Were he to adopt Bridgestones, he would then be six season’s worth of data behind Ducati and the other adopters of the tyre. Why give yourself this disadvantage when you will be in a Michelin team next year with a satellite team also testing and feeding you data (Tech-3)? For once Valentino, you’re wrong. Dig in and make the Michelins work for you. Perhaps if someone other than Colin Edwards was testing them for you this would help?

Valentino has never been one to sit quietly. Back in July, MotoGPBlog pointed out he had started negotiations with Yamaha to extend his contract beyond 2008. He has just fired another shot across his Japanese team’s bow in the Italian press, according to Eurosport.

If nothing changes, I can look for another opportunity. Yamaha have to show me something now, make a good bike for 2008 otherwise I could make a change.

The overt message in this is that he is pushing Yamaha to increase the pace of development of the bike. His is a loud voice, loud enough to be heard in Japan, but can Yamaha deliver the kind of performance they did in his first year with the team? Underlying this demand is another message: two years is a long time for Rossi to go without topping the championship. It is very likely he would move elsewhere if this run were to extend to a third and Yamaha do not show him enough commitment.

The track stayed dry throughout the session for the first time so far this weekend. Heavy rain overnight followed by a wet warm up did little to prepare the riders or the track for the best times. Stoner had a nasty high-side in the morning session, leaving the bike and flipping over the handlebars, but seems to be just bruised rather than injured.

At the start of the session, Stoner put in a qualifier early to give himself a banker lap should the weather turn wet again, and his time of 1:29.998 stood until 10 minutes before the end. The rest of the riders chanced the weather and concentrated on race set-up for the majority of the session, with de Puniet in particular putting in a swift 1:30.713 on race tyres.

With 20 minutes to go, he tried a qualifier and was heading for pole when the tyre gave up on the left side through Lukey Heights, compromising his time through the final left-hander but still managing a 1:30.216 to go second.
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The MotoGP paddock will hold a minutes silence after the warm-up session in Phillip Island to honour the memory of Norifumi Abe who was killed in a traffic accident in Japan last Sunday, at the age of 32.

Team Roberts are carrying a ‘Norrick’ logo on their bike this weekend in memory of the rider who gave them faithful service in MotoGP.

The FIM has inspected and given the green light to the resurfacing of the the track at Kuala Lumpur, as reported by the Malaysian News Agency. The track has been repaired following the Malaysian F1 event in April this year. The new surface is sure to throw some unpredictability into the mix when the bikes arrive in Malaysia following the Phillip Island event.

If you are able to get to Malaysia for the race, the rickets are cheap, very cheap. At the moment they can still be purchased for as little as 10 Ringgits, which equates to 1.45 GBP or 2.97 USD.