MotoGP 2012

[ZX600]

Well, 2011 is over and with the 1000 bikes test tomorrow, a new era starts. Hopefully a more competitive season than 2011

let's get this started with the moto3 and moto2 tests

Moto2 and Moto3 Test finishes at Valencia Monday, 7 November 2011

The weather put a limit on the amount of on-track activity on Monday at the one-day Test. As it did during the GP weekend which preceded the Moto2 and Moto3 Test at Valencia, the weather played a large part in proceedings on Monday as rain limited on-track activity at the one-day Test in Spain. There was plenty of excitement at the prospect of first contact with the new Moto3 machines which will replace the 125cc class in 2012, and some riders were fortunate enough to get in their first laps on the 250cc four-stroke bikes.

Rookie of the Year in the 125cc class Maverick Viñales was present with his BQR team and went out on a Honda, although the team are yet to decide on what bike they will go with next season, and Luis Salom and his RW Racing team also experienced some track time with the Moto3 machinery. Japanese rider Kenta Fujii, who has been confirmed with the Technomag-CIP set-up for 2012, was also on track and German rider Toni Finsterbusch rode with MZ Racing.

Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira was also present with the Monlau Competición crew but in the end he did not ride in the conditions. In the Moto2 category 125cc Championship runner-up Johann Zarco had his first run on a 600cc four-stroke bike with his new JiR team, lapping on the MotoBI prototype along with Brazilian youngster Eric Granado. Jonas Folger is looking to make the move up to Moto2 for 2012 and put in some laps with the MZ Racing machine, escaping uninjured from a minor fall towards the end of the day.

Anthony West was also out on track for the German factory. Meanwhile Marc VDS Racing riders Scott Redding and Mika Kallio both rolled out on Kalex machines for the first time, which the Belgian set-up will run with next season. Also riding the German frame for the first time was Esteve Rabat, who has signed for the Pons team.

Alex de Angelis went out on the Suter with Forward Racing, who he switches to for the 2012 season. Other riders present who did not ride owing to the conditions were Nico Terol (Aspar) and Bradley Smith (Tech 3). Toni Elías was also at the track with the intention of testing the Gresini Team’s Moto2 machine, as was British rider Gino Rea, but eventually neither went out due to the rain

To early to guess who will be at the top, but we can all make our guesses

[Chaos]

2012 Silly Season

Green team name denotes everything is finalized.
Black team name denotes at least one element is not finalized.
? denotes missing or rumoured elements.
All teams will be using 1000cc motors.

Yamaha
Riders:Lorenzo, Spies
Chassis: Yamaha
Engine: Yamaha


Honda
Riders: Stoner, Pedrosa
Chassis: Honda
Engine: Honda


Ducati
Riders: Rossi, Hayden
Chassis: Ducati
Engine: Ducati


Pramac
Riders: Barbera
Chassis: Ducati
Engine: Ducati


LCR
Riders: Bradl
Chassis: Honda
Engine: Honda


Aspar (CRT)
Riders: de Puniet, A.Espargaro
Chassis: Aprilia
Engine: Aprilia


Gresini
Riders: Bautista
Chassis: Honda
Engine: Honda


Gresini (CRT)
Riders: Pirro
Chassis: FTR
Engine: Honda


Cardion AB
Riders:Abraham
Chassis: Ducati
Engine: Ducati


Tech3
Riders: Dovizioso, Crutchlow
Chassis: Yamaha
Engine: Yamaha


Forward (CRT)
Riders: Edwards
Chassis: Suter
Engine: BMW


BQR (CRT)
Riders: Silva, Hernandez
Chassis: FTR
Engine: Kawasaki


BPM Racing (CRT)
Riders: Ellison
Chassis: Aprilia
Engine: Aprilia


Speed Master
Riders: Pasini
Chassis: Aprilia
Engine: Aprilia


IODA (CRT)
Riders: Petrucci
Chassis: IODA
Engine: Aprilia

**************************************

Team Laglisse (CRT)
Riders: ?
Chassis: Suter
Engine: BMW

Notes: tested in Valencia. Not running in 2012.


Grillini Team (CRT Entry)
Riders: ?
Chassis: ?
Engine: ?

Notes: tested in Valencia. Not running in 2012.

[SweetOnion]

Umm... pretty sure Ducati is not going to be running a Honda 1000.

work in progress...2012 Silly SeasonYamahaRiders:Lorenzo, SpiesChassis: YamahaEngine: Yamaha 1000ccHondaRiders: Stoner, PedrosaChassis: HondaEngine: Honda 1000ccDucatiRiders: Rossi, HaydenChassis: DucatiEngine: Honda 1000ccSuzukiRiders: De Puniet?Chassis: SuzukiEngine: Suzuki 1000cc?PramacRiders: Barbera, Chassis: DucatiEngine: Ducati 1000ccLCR Riders: Bradl?Chassis: HondaEngine: Honda 1000cc?AsparRiders:Chassis:Engine:GresiniRiders:Ch assis:Engine:Cardion ABRiders:AbrahamChassis: Ducati Engine: Ducati 1000ccTech3Riders: Dovizioso, CrutchlowChassis: YamahaEngine: Yamaha 1000ccForwardRiders: EdwardsChassis:Engine:

[Chaos]

fixed, and added updates

[ZX600]

fixed, and added updates

Nice

in other news

Repsol Honda Team dominate on 1st day of testing at Valencia Tuesday, 8 November 2011 Repsol Honda riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa were back in action at Valencia circuit today on the new RC213V. Dani Pedrosa set the fastest lap time with 1'32.186 on his final lap of 40 and Casey Stoner who did 42 laps, finished closely behind him with a 1'32.322, recorded on lap 34.

[ZX600]

Dani Pedrosa – 1st 1'32.186"It's been a good day for testing after so much rain! The track conditions were good which allowed us to work well on the bike and get the first feeling with the new RCV. We made a step forward from August, when I first tried the bike in Brno which is a good thing: we modified the front end a little and I felt the corner entry is better, also under braking. I'm quite satisfied, not because of the lap times but more for the feeling I had. It was a bike test but also a rider test, I feel it's like a schooling for me also and I enjoyed it. Not only the bike is new, also the tyres are different for these bikes, the engine is new, you have more power and more torque. We've been riding 800cc quite a long time and I feel that I need to adapt my riding style a little and it's interesting. It's more fun, in general."Casey Stoner – 2nd 1'32.322"Everything has gone pretty well for us we're struggling a little bit with the new tyres, we're finding they are giving us a little bit of chatter on the bike. We compared the bike that we tested in Jerez and Brno to the newer version we have here and we found quite a lot of improvements in some small ways with chattering but we still need to work on this some more. In general it was good to be out there on the 1000 and feel the horsepower, it's a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to feeling it on a lot of different tracks!."Press release courtesy of Repsol Honda Team

[Chaos]

Bautista signs with Gresini - http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/R...ista+part+ways

[Chaos]

Test times from Valencia are in. There was a mishmash of CRT entries, 1000cc factories, and 1000cc and 800cc customers.

So far, it's as expected. The factories are on top, followed by the customers, followed by the CRT teams. It's not surprising the CRT teams are off pace, but it's quite dramatic. On the plus side, BMW and Kawasaki motors were used in CRT bikes.

Edit: Aprillia engines are going to be used by a CRT team.

[TLDeano]

Casey will break records in 2012, even some Rossi has that ppl said would not be beatable.
Like a mad dog, Dani will ride past his limits to try and catch him, fall, and get hurt alot.
Spies will rise, incrementaly with Lorenzo, both will be in the top 5 by seasons end (one will be 2nd or 3rd).
There will be one B bike Honda that will fly, and challenge in the top 3 alot.

[S500K]

Casey will break records in 2012

Um. YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuDZX...ailpage#t=160s

[mxs]

So far, it's as expected. The factories are on top, followed by the customers, followed by the CRT teams. It's not surprising the CRT teams are off pace, but it's quite dramatic. On the plus side, BMW and Kawasaki motors were used in CRT bikes.

No worries, it will be equalized at some point. They will get as much gas as they need to get closer to the factory machines.

It seems like there will be two races in one. Factory race Honda vs. Yamaha and CRT everyone else. Satellite teams will disappear because Dorna will stop writing cheques to these teams (and they will not be afford to do it by themselves), they will only support CRT teams. I assume people will enjoy more the CRT racing and that's what Dorna is banking on (see moto2) and that is most likely the future. Controlled ECU is next in my opinion, just because how much each team spends on development of electronics. It's the largest bill by far every team has to deal with.

[mxs]

Um. YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuDZX...ailpage#t=160s

That will hurt the Yamaha brass the whole winter ... Better engine, better transmission .... ehm, yeah a slightly better rider. They were better off to loose by 2-3 seconds rather than like this.

[Chaos]

Suzuki gone? http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/174...of_motogp.html

[Jia]

Sounds like they are out to me. Plus Paul Denning has been keeping that WSBK seat open for a curiously long time as it is, having already signed Leon Camier.
I'm almost positive Hopper will be in WSBK alongside Leon next season. The articles are good though, it makes sense for Suzuki to pull out and come back (if they do) in 2014. Since Dorna is changing the rules heavily in '13 no point unloading so much money to develop a 1000cc bike for 1 year of racing. Return would be impossible on the R&D.

Anthony West, a backmarker in Moto2 is riding a CRT next year. Not sure how that comes about but he has lots of experience and was a ex-Kawi MotoGP rider. Many say his equipment is to blame for his poor results recently. More the merrier though for next year.

Question now is, RDP definitely still got his groove, where will he go next year now...non CRT spots are all filled aren't they? I'll be saddened if he doesn't find a ride next year. Always liked watching him ride.

[Chaos]

Question now is, RDP definitely still got his groove, where will he go next year now...non CRT spots are all filled aren't they? I'll be saddened if he doesn't find a ride next year. Always liked watching him ride.

There is an opening at Gresini, and at LCR.

[mxs]

Unfortunately both spots are taken now .... Bautista wisely to Gresini (after Suzuki booting out) and Bradl unexpectedly to LCR (after very successful test and his sponsor being able to find more money; he was faster than Elias, first time on the bike ....).

So RDP will probably have to take WSBK spot, if he can find one.

[Chaos]

I would agree that the LCR spot is likely going to Bradl, but Gresini has not accounced that he's going down to one bike (Bautista has one seat, the other is vacant)....has he?

[Geeser]

Can someone explain how the CRT rules are intended to benefit the private teams? I could find only one MotoGP press release about it. I didn't think blown engines or fuel management were the main differences between podium and last place.

[Jia]

I would agree that the LCR spot is likely going to Bradl, but Gresini has not accounced that he's going down to one bike (Bautista has one seat, the other is vacant)....has he?

Yes they are doing one Honda RC213V with Bautista and now just confirmed they are running a CRT - FTR with CBR1000RR motor. Thing is Randy expressed firmly he didn't want a CRT ride. But people change their minds. So we'll see. And yea LCR is basically taken by Bradl

Can someone explain how the CRT rules are intended to benefit the private teams? I could find only one MotoGP press release about it. I didn't think blown engines or fuel management were the main differences between podium and last place.

More engines and more fuel is one thing. The cost for a production motor alone is hell of a lot cheaper than the GP ones. If you watched MotoGP, commentators and interviews pointed that fuel management and engine allocation actually was a factor. If the CRT's can romp out massive HP out of those motors (which they can since no GP rider that went to WSBK ever said the bikes lack power, in fact, quite the contrary), then they can actually use the HP because they have less fuel restrictions. The much greater engine allocation should mean they can run them full out more often. One can only assume that even the highly modified parts for the production engines are cheaper than one off stuff in the GP bikes.

There's so much in top level racing, it's very hard to attribute results properly. Sometimes Yamaha maybe in a used engine on one weekend, while Honda is on a new one, and vice versa. Stuff the public would probably never find out about. The more CRT's next year the better for '13. The chassis guys (Suter, and now it seems FTR is a big player) will have lots of data to make their frames better. It's already evident that a highly modified production engine is powerful enough by looking at WSBK, and even they have to use stuff like (IIRC) stock cranks, stock fuel pumps, stock injectors...imagine when they don't need that stock stuff on there.

[Geeser]

So what's the point of a factory team claiming an engine from a CRT if the factory team doesn't have additional fuel to use it fully?