Yooperbikemike's 2012 MotoGP Thread

Who are they going to to get to redo the motor?

Yes, the more important question!


And why Suter for a frame?

If they have some of those 999R engines left... with that and a Suter frame they could just enter as a CRT.

Maybe Preziosi and Rossi knew this and are abandoning ship.






:)

So Audi executives considered losing the biggest name in MC racing the final straw? Didn't five or so years of non-competitiveness tip them off that something should have been done before that?

That picture of Marquez reminds of the youtube clip of the guy dragging his helmet..

Ducati have gone downwards ever since the end of 2007, so for half a decade now. It is incredible, that they didn't listen to Stoner, and even failed to listen to Rossi & Burgess. Now the whole project is a joke, barely better than the CRT bikes. So although Preziosi may have done great things in the past, he probably needs to go now. Still they're probably not gonna climb up from this hole very fast.

If Ducati struggles in WSBK with their new bike as well as in MotoGP, I could see them dropping out of the MotoGP category to focus on what has historically been their bread and butter, WSBK.

I don't see Audi pissing away millions with no return.

From a pure racing point of view I agree. BUT, if the motogp program has contributed to their road bikes over last 2-3 years then it has been a storming success IMHO. Sales are up by a large margin along with their prices. Even me, (a BMW fan boy) is now riding one, and very impressed with it, I even 'expect' it to be reliable.

Valid points.

I fail to see, how their current MotoGP effort is really helping them sell road bikes. MAYBE the image of Rossi could have sold a few - as well as merchandise - but when he's gone, they haven't got much left. Would be interesting to know, how much money they have poured into this (that also means they HAVE to sell more than a few bikes to make profit, no?) Success on track sells bikes, not sucking ass on the back of the grid.

I think he was referring to technology that Ducati has developed for the track and put into their production bikes.

I could be wrong though, wouldn't be the first time!

It works great :eek1


there have been five recalls on the Panigale, most, if not all, can cause a crash which will result in serious bodily harm.

I would say they are copying their motogp effort to the letter

this...the spectactular star that is(has?) been VR has sold ducatis by the truck load.GP success or not.

he is an amazing talent no question.He does seem to have no regard for his fellow riders on track tho.They are no more than mobile chicanes for him.
His talent is unquestionable

oser

From a corporate perspective, changing leadership is about all you can do to short-circuit bureaucratic inertia (hiney-covering) that builds up in a protracted failure.

As anticipated early in the deal, any failure to yield significant results would be a waterloo for Ducati more than Rossi - he has toppled another giant. Its a remarkable career.

http://motomatters.com/news/2012/11/10/2014_motogp_rules_announced_spec_ecu_int.html

Its an unholy compromise to allow the software advantage to remain, but at least Ezpeleta is holding the manufacturer's feet to the fire on fuel and reliability. It will be interesting to see how they change tune when CRT's start to podium late in the season!

The crazy thing is that it is the manufacturers who are holding their own feet to the fire on fuel and reliability. They asked for less fuel and fewer engines. He was happy to give it to them. They are insane.

thats what they want.They want to be able to develop the fuel usage algorithms.And for Hhonda engine relability is part of the engineering prowess.Honda will eat that up.

Well, if you are Honda with an unlimited budget you want to apply pressure on your peers. HRC laid waste to the sport, yet it is a special rider who finally delivered for them.

As always, it is the special riders who make the difference. And thankfully we honor them here.

You might have a good point there!

Well, i don't buy a bike because of who rides the same make of bike in motogp or any other racing series or because that make of bike has been winning everything on track. Otherwise i would never have owned a BMW . But then i dont buy sports bikes. If that's how others choose their bikes then great, but I would surmise they are a very small percentage of the buying population.
The multistrada has moved street bikes on by a quantum leap just as the BMW GS did by effectively creating a new class. That has only been possible by making large leaps in performance allied to reliability. (i know some have had problems, but that is the same with all makes) These advancements can only have come because of strong competition and great expense. I know the argument is that BMW created the GS without a racing department, but times have changed and I think the pace of development for road bikes mirrors the race bikes.