MotoGP Blog

The test sessions so far have been about three things: riders moving into new teams getting used to their new machinery, some fiddling about with 2007 bikes, and some testing of 2008 bikes. This is a snapshot of how the new boys to the class are settling in - bearing in mind nothing but good news will be coming out of the garages at this point in time.

Jorge Lorenzo
Possibly the most anticipated rookie for years in MotoGP, not because he is more talented than those before him, but because he has a seemingly unshakable belief in his talents that appears to manifest itself as arrogance. Plus he is a prima donna to rival Rossi himself and sparks are expected to fly between the two. He seems to be settling in to the bike quickly, turning in a 1′34 as his fastest lap in the first day of Valencia testing, and bettering this by two seconds on the second day. He then repeated the feat in the Sepang tests. He’s still 0.6 secs off the top time set by Hayden in Sepang testing which would translate to nearly 14 seconds over race distance, but he is showing signs of improving and adapting his style. Grade: B+

Andrea Dovitzioso
Jumped on the JiR Team Scott Honda and was instantly fast. Turned in a 2′02.128 by the end of the Sepang test, for fourth fastest. Impressive adaptation and riding skills like this will earn Andrea a good reputation in the paddock and a shot at a better ride in 2009…if he continues like this. Grade: A

James Toseland
Slowly does it James. Nothing to write home about in Sepang, but then he’d never ridden there before, unlike his classmates. Slowest of the lot, with a spill too, will not result in this chapter of his autobiography being headline stuff. At least the only way is up. Grade: C-

They have one more chance to improve their grade this year - Jerez. Who will finish top of the class?

The re-vamped Indianapolis circuit construction is now being hailed as complete, with corners added “to keep the riders safer”. It seems the revised track layout ensures riders are further from the walls and there’s some “very smooth grass that they can kind of slow down on” a representative said.

I thought the current preference was for gravel or tarmac runoff areas rather than grass - if one of these bikes gets as far as the grass still on two wheels it won’t be long before they are not, and potentially in the wall without much slowing down at all.

Can someone from the FIM get out there sharpish and check what these guys are up to please? I’m sure it will be fine, but best to check, eh?

I’m a bit late to the party on this one. Nicebloke has an informative post on “D-Air” from weeks ago - Dianese’s airbag, deploying from the aerodynamic hump in the leathers on the rider’s back. The airbag is primarily to protect the rider from whiplash and collarbone breakages.

The system is activated not by a teather between the rider and bike, but by a small computer housed in the hump of the leathers next to the deflated bag and gas cylinder. The computer constantly monitors a set of accelerometers and gyroscopes to spot a crash event and then inflates the bag within 40 milliseconds. The complexity of the system lies in differentiating an accident from the rider cornering or simply breaking heavily. Dianese have had a team of 12 - count them - 12 software engineers working on the project full-time which is a good measure of the complexity of the calculations involved.

The system is self contained, and most importantly for Dianese, can be inserted into off-the-peg leathers you and I can buy relatively straightforwardly.

These shots are from Valencia where the bags were used for the first time at a meeting in the 125cc and 250cc categories. Dianese have taken over 10 years to reach this point, studying data from thousands of crashes. Given the evidence in Valencia, they seem to have done a great job.

Fears of bright lights causing every rider to simultaneously have 15 shadows and being blinded have been put to rest following the first test of the lighting rigs in Qatar. A clever combination of low-level lights from one side and higher-level, more ambient lighting produces a seemless near-daylight effect across the width of the track, as can be seen in this picture.

A portion of the Qatar track has been rigged to test out the theory and Toseland and Capirossi have given their blessing. This is a much better result than the first attempt at lighting Qatar back in 2004 when Rossi, Capirossi and KR Jr poured cold water on the plan after a test under stadium-style lights revealed problems with shadows and difficulty in seeing braking markers.

Qatar is going to be interesting to say the least.

It’s the same news as back in October, but with the added spice that someone mentioned Ducati as a potential home for Valentino if he doesn’t get a better bike from Yamaha. That simple spin in the Italian press is enough to send them giddy with excitement, and for the rest of the bike press to follow suit.

The fact is, Stoner is signed through the 2009 season with an option for 2010, and Melandri is signed up for 2008 and 2009 so Ducati is going for a strategy of stability with it’s riders. True, the prospect of Vale being a free agent at the end of 2008 will likely tempt any team to terminate (almost) any other rider contract to get the use of his skills, but the fact remains it would be a lot more attractive and simple if another contract was coming to an end at the right time…like Hayden’s is.

There would seem to be three options currently within the realms of possibility:

1. Rossi back at Honda. Very possible - he did not burn his bridges like Max. Hayden has looked like a wounded animal all through the ‘07 season. Where is the challenge for Rossi here though?
2. Rossi at Ducati. The less likely of the three, although were it to happen the nation of Italy would implode with excitement. Marco Melandri would also use his (imaginary) Mafia connections to take out a contract on Rossi. Winning the championship on three different manufacturer’s bikes could be the challenge lacking in the Honda option.
3. Rossi stays with Yamaha. The bike needs to be up on power, be more agile, oh and have more power. Did Rossi mention it needs more power too?

Rossi is Yamaha’s to lose, but he will go if they do not deliver the goods.

Here’s a low down on the results from the testing and what they mean:

Suzuki
Vermeulen rode the 2008 bike (pictured) recognisable by the messy exhaust at the back and the two deep cooling vents cut in the fairing, for part of the first day and all day of the second, and made positive noises afterwards, turning in faster times than he managed in the race. The bike seems reliable.
Capirossi rode the 2007 bike simply to have a run out, fiddle with settings and, almost literally, find his bearings, and Aoki was busy testing new bits and pieces on the 2008 bike. Suzuki will be really pleased with the outcome. Note the still-exposed exhaust under the rear seat demonstrating how unfinished the new bike still is.

Yamaha
A run out for half of the new-style Yamaha “team” - Rossi being absent due to his hand injury - saw Lorenzo finding his way on the bigger bike. It was a great, if very public, opportunity to for him to play with settings, learn about his new team and team manager and simply get to grips with the stickier tyres, greater weight, different power characteristics and the multitude of adjustments on the bike. Sixth fastest, 0.6 secs behind Stoner is a very impressive result. Food for thought for Messrs. Stoner and Rossi.
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We all knew the man was fast, but to lap within five seconds of Pedrosa’s new lap record with steel brake discs is an amazing feat.

Post updated to reflect the recent announcements of JiR Team Scot and Andrea Dovizioso. It’s also interesting to note that only now have Suzuki officially unveiled Capirossi as a rider for next year as he jumps on the ‘08 bike in Valencia. A somewhat different approach to that taken by Ducati!

The implications of Rossi getting the tyres he wants run deep for Fiat Yamaha. Announcements today have detailed the revised team structure (shown after the fold) and the additional hassle the team will go through next year. There is a lot more to it than simply putting different rubber on Rossi’s bike.

The team is now split in two in order to allow the competing tyre companies privacy of data between the bikes. It’s not just on paper either - Rossi will occupy a separate garage to Lorenzo so there will be no flow of information proprietary tyre information between the two teams.
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After the last race of the MotoGP season some lucky, lucky journalists get to ride the bikes that we have watched all year. It’s a great PR exercise for the manufacturers and the resulting articles are usually tinged with the hysteria of the guys getting to ride their dream bikes. This isn’t a criticism - I’d be the same if I had the chance to ride one of these monsters.

This year there are a couple of notable riders - Michael Schumacher will take the Ducati out for a spin and Gerhard Berger who now writes for a German bike magazine will also get to grips with a number of machines over Monday and Tuesday.