Qatar WSBK, spoilers to come, race on SATURDAY

[Metastable]

Well folks, if you haven't heard Ben Spies decided to lay down the some smack the first time he has ever been to Qatar. First day there and he is already fastest by A LOT.... relatively speaking of course.

http://www.crash.net/World+Superbike..._in_qatar.html

[Mau]

How good is Spies????!!!!!
Apart from practice, this is his first time here.
Also, he doesn't even have the "fastest" bike on the track. Although that cross-plane is really designed to get on the gas out of the corners earlier as per Rossi, who referred to it as "Sweet".
Really surprised with Max Neuk. (Suz) poor results.
Pleasantly surprised with Max Biaggi and Nakano (RSV-4). That machine is really coming together well.
I thought that the new Bimmers would be way ahead of the RSV4. Looks like that Vespa has really come together. This is one of those "race on sunday, sell on monday" things that might actually catch on.

[Kaotic Trance]

agreed, Spies is definitely showing some form... and it looks like Yamaha's really done their homework with the 2009 R1...

lets just hope Spies's run won't turn into something like what happened to Lorenzo the second half of last season...

Here's the superpole standings in case anyone's interested...

WSB Qatar - Superpole results

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.280
2 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'57.384
3 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'57.694
4 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'57.850
5 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'57.878
6 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'58.755
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.090
8 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2'00.021
9 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'58.734
10 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'58.919
11 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'59.044
12 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.055
13 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'59.074
14 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.134
15 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.435
16 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'59.454
17 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.713
18 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'59.882
19 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'59.926
20 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2'00.108
21 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 2'00.738
22 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'00.839
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.047
24 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 2'01.165
25 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 2'01.560
26 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.561
27 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'01.607
28 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2'02.663

and just in case you didn't know, Superpole is done like F1 with a 3 round knockout, that's why Byrne's time is slower than guys below him, but that was only in the last round of knockout..

[boyoboy]

and just in case you didn't know, Superpole is done like F1 with a 3 round knockout, that's why Byrne's time is slower than guys below him, but that was only in the last round of knockout..[/QUOTE]

hows that work? i'm not familiar with F1 racing. could someone explain superpole to me? thx all.

[hotshotmikeyboy]

quote]

hows that work? I'm not familiar with f1 racing. Could someone explain superpole to me? Thx all.

ummm i dont think any one knows exactly how superpole works ...lol

[franz131]

ummm i dont think any one knows exactly how superpole works ...lol

It's knock-out, just like F-1.

Top 20 advance after session 1, top 8 advance after session 2, winner of session 3 gets pole, remainder make up the front of the grid.

[Jayv]

Nice weekend for Spies, pretty much picture perfect.

Torrents are up and running.

[You Know]

It was on speed today from 4pm-6pm fantastic racing!!!!!

[Seoul Man]

Ben killed it out there. I've read on other sites that people already think that Ben's gonna run away with the championship and are already throwing the word "boring" around. I don't think thats gonna be the case. Even though Ben learns tracks very quickly, Qatar is very similar to Miller in Utah and I think that helped ease the learning curve this weekend. Also, the Duc's don't really suit Qatar and don't have a very good record at that track. It also seems to be down on top speed compared to the R1 and even the Aprilia. I think at the next round in Valencia, which is smaller, we'll see a tighter race. At this point, I still think Haga is going to win it all, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Ben won the 'ship. I definitely did not expect to see the RSV4 so competetive so soon. You never know whats gonna happen in WSBK!

[Metastable]

I wouldn't say the R1 was all that fast down the straight. It seemed like he was having a hard time passing bikes.... every time he passed Max it was in the infield.

Seriously though. I know these guys are pros and all, but how do you go out on your very first session and pop up the FASTEST time of that session, when it is your very first time at the track.... with top tier riders who have been there before?

Ben handed a SMACK down.... fastest every session, fastest lap, fastest race lap, pole, and won both races at a track he hasn't even tested at before. That's just SCARY if you're the competition. I also think he will have a bit of a tougher time when he gets to Europe.... but I'd love to see him win the championship.

I've been saying this for a while now.... the level of the AMA was very high the last couple of years... especially Ben and Matt. Those guys were on a different level.... obviously a world class level.

[Mau]

agreed.
there's actually a stat that shows that spies didn't have top speed (as i mentioned before). Looks like the change in the R1's cross-plane crank is really an improvement (thanks to Rossi).
This is why i believe racing is so important to the regular consumer. Eventually that technilogy will trickle down to us.... ie-aerodynamics, slipper clutch, traction control, cross-plane blah blah blah

[boyoboy]

i wonder..........spies is good.....but is it spies or the big bang motor thats providing the edge? or a combo of both?

who else has a yamaha with the big bang motor in WSBK?

[Mau]

everyone.
hell, you can get one from any Yamaha dealer. it's what's great about WSBK. They have to have production bikes, of course tuned!
Although i think the term Big Bang isn't accurate here, as thre is a slight difference in firing intervals, instead of the 1-2 that would be a "big bang", but someone with more techical no how should chime in here.

[K4GSXXXR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM_9HwNNjSM

This one explains even better.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2038701//

[boyoboy]

everyone.
hell, you can get one from any Yamaha dealer. it's what's great about WSBK. They have to have production bikes, of course tuned!
Although i think the term Big Bang isn't accurate here, as thre is a slight difference in firing intervals, instead of the 1-2 that would be a "big bang", but someone with more techical no how should chime in here.

hmmm, of course..proddy. does anyone know at what degree(s) crankshaft rotation the cylinders are firing at? just wondering. spies..you ARE the bad a*s!