Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo has been quoted as being concerned about the safety issues posed by the top of speed of the new 1000s. Specifically referencing 350 kilometers per hour (218 mph) as expected speed on some of the MotoGP tracks with long straightaways. He seems to be concerned about a flat tire or other mechanical issue causing a rider to go down at these speeds. He has suggested a top speed limit (which could be enforced by an ECU standard).
What do you think? It should be noted that Valentino Rossi (Ducati) does not seemed concerned with any safety issues relating to the more powerful bikes this year.
This Lorenzo is becoming quite the whiner!! Coming off at 300 or 350kph whats the difference? I recon he been spending to much time over the season break with Stoner
I knew this was coming…… they should just all race honda cubs!!
It’s already got a speed limiter dude, and YOU have total control over it! This is racing and whatever the risks, there are plenty of talented riders who will ride that thing to the max if you won’t. So…are you IN or are you OUT?
It’s so hilarious reading all the posters who think that Lorenzo is being a wuss for his remarks about tire safety and speed.
I see some saying that his being paid so he should shut up. Really? He’s being paid to race.. not die. ‘Course whimps like Lorenzo could just quit instead of talking about safe tires. But that would turn the motoGP trophy into a contest of attrition between Darwin award candidtates. Maybe Lorenzo isn’t tough enough for you heroes. Or maybe he’s just smarter.
I see some saying that all the traction control and etc… tech is nonsense, and all you need are good dirtbiking skillz. Dang you must be good. Weird I didn’t see you on the motoGP grid last season. Sure hoping to see you out there next season – sans TC and running on bald tires so you can slippy slide your way thru the corners.
The only derogatory comment I saw that made sense was the one about “if you can’t beat them on the track then beat them with the rule book.” But Lorenzo was hanging with everyone but Stoner so I don’t think the rule book is going to help him beat Stoner regardless.
If there was a crash the 10% increase of speed at 200 would result in more than an 20% increase in force on the rider. That’s got to translate into a big difference when talking about injuries.
There is already a safety device installed for high speeds. It’s called the throttle. If you are concerned about the high speed then just rotate the throttle forward a little. It doesn’t get much more simple than that.
Shinichi Ito racing Moto GP’s for Honda was the first rider to break the 200 mph barrier, back in 1993. Imagine doing 200+ with 1993 tires, frames and brakes.
Still if it’s a safety issue, they should examine it.
Nobody called Kenny Roberts a wuss when he nearly shut down Moto GP over safety issues (well I ‘ll bet some did) but in the end his efforts made racing safer for all.
I suppose when street bikes are approaching 200 mph, with street tires, off the show room floor, possibly ridden by 16 year olds thanks to Dads cash, riding a real race bike that will only go 200 mph must seem kind of tame.
For us (i.e. those watching the race enjoying the comfort of our armchairs)what is the difference between 200mph and 220mph? None, I’d say. Did we notice the increase of top speed over the years from 160 to 180 to 200mph etc? Not really!
For racers, it is probably a source of unnecessary risk.
I agree.
Normally aspirated 1000cc, 4 cylinders or less, “pump” gas, no electronics for engine final drive power delivery, brake or chassis control, “spec” tires, no other rules other than commonly agreed upon weight limits. I think that would reduce costs and increase safety and competition.
If the tires can cope, then roll with it. A speed limit in GP racing just sounds silly to me even if it is set at 200mph. These guys are paid to win, and winning means pushing the limits of man and machine. When the machine raises the bar, the man must raise his game as well or fall to those who are willing to take the risks to further enhance the skills necessary to play.
When the tires are proven to be safe then you can bet Lorenzo will be the ready to roll. The man and his skills were never in question, the capabilities of the tires were. If a tire flies apart under a rider at over 200mph there is no skill that will keep him from crashing terribly.
In 2006 Stoner was not on the same tyres as topliners such as Rossi. It was not a level playing field, the top guys even had Saturday night specials then. An ex A grade racer said to me in 2006 that if Stoner was on equal tyres he’d be world champ; he was soon proved right.
“Stoner goes into a panic”? Evidence please; no one uses less traction control than Stoner.
Clearly the doddering old men who run FIM are not up to the pace of modern technology. I will be a puss and suggest that at the end of this season there will be some big changes, due to a bad accident.
Mile flat track racing is more exciting at 100mph than gp is at 200mph. The subtleties of throttle control are not visible on tv and therefore, not interesting to the average viewer.
The basic problem is that the manufacturers are using gp to sell 1000cc sportbikes (which are 10x too fast for road use anyway) This is the reason they went back up from 800cc.
Another point is that the feeder series, 250 and 500, use basically the same cylinder. But then you get a 3 cyl 750, which none of the Japanese sell.
Fred M has nailed it spot on !!!!!! I ride dirt bikes a lot and you learn how to handle a motorcycle. All these electronic aids and fly by wire controls are nonsense. They remove direct felling of what your bike is doing. They amount to overriding your imputs.I have a KTM supermoto and slide it into corners and spin the rear tire all the time on asphalt. Try that on anti-lock brakes and stupid traction control. Roadrace schools are very good and I have attended many, but nothing teaches more control than offroading. Do it a lot, not only is it incredible fun, but you will laugh at all this electronic BS !!!!
Yeah, he is concerned alright…after he saw how fast the Hondas are. What he is concerned about is Yamaha’s lack of speed.
So, just like Harley and the AMA in the 1980’s…”we can’t beat Honda on the race track, so let’s beat them with the rule book.”
The 1000cc Yamaha is every bit as fast as the Honda.
Just keep telling yourself that as Stoner smokes on by you.
Hate to tell you this mate…but Stoner would be smoking them all on any bike. Have you not noticed that last year three others had exactly the same bike as Stoner?? May pay to see what Spies had to say about the Yamaha vs the Honda at the Sepang test as well. He seemed to think his Yamaha was faster in a straight line now.
That’s not what Stoner says. He is raving about how much better the Honda is than anything else he has ever ridden.
I don’t think Lorenzo is a crybaby. But the premise of his concern is just odd to begin with. I mean, we’re talking about SPEED here. Every day there are people all over the planet trying to break speed records. Look at Bonneville. A human being hit the 400mph mark on two wheels recently with a motorcycle engine, not a jet. People understand the risks and do it anyway.
Yes, very true. But the Bonneville guys do it on their own dime while the MotoGP riders are paid MILLIONS of dollars for their effort. If they don’t like to stick their neck while racing in a risky sport ,then they should move aside and let someone else play.
re: “But the Bonneville guys do it on their own dime”
the Bonneville guys also run the salt by their lonesome (see entry for “world’s fastest indian”).
re: “But the premise of his concern is just odd to begin with”
only odd to those who haven’t taken the time to read through all the postings and discover brad’s comment below. the wise men have a phrase about this and starts off, “those who don’t know history…”
Lorenzo is being a baby. No pampering on these bikes. Zip up your pants and ride it like a man!
re: “Lorenzo is being a baby”
TRANSLATION:
“Lorenzo is being an ADULT, but the hallmark behaviors of being responsible and proactive are ones i have yet to personally embrace”.
All of you guys bagging on Lorenzo have a right to bag on him once you’ve done over 200 mph on a bike yourselves. Then you can all talk about what a crybaby he is.
Hey – Nobody is forcing him to RACE ….
re: “Hey – Nobody is forcing him to RACE”
but they ARE forcing him to accept that bridgestones can stand up to forces on which they clearly have no data. the last time this happened it ended in a crash for schumacher (ralf) and an F1 drivers boycott of michelin at indianapolis ’05.
And how exactly do you know for sure that the Bridgestones will fail?
Think man. You’ve got it backwards.
But enough about that… I’ve got an investment plan for you that has not yet been proven to be to be a crock. Based on your logic, I’ll be looking forward to your check in the mail.
There’s also a suspension bridge built out of legos 200′ off the ground. It hasn’t been proven to fail. Come one over.
Asphanaut…
Poor analogies. More absurd than anything really. But then again, what can you expect on the internet… You either need to think or try harder. Investments without risk are Ponzi schemes. And there is no such suspension bridge built out of legos that is as high as you claim it to be. If it did exist, I’d walk across it without hesitation.
Lorenzo has already gone over 200 mph in a race on a 800cc MotoGP machine. While the 800cc Yamaha didn’t have the top speed that the Honda did, I’d bet that he has gone nearly 210 mph at some of the faster tracks with longer straights.
My other post is “awaiting moderation”, but back in 2009 Pedrossa had already gone nearly 350 kph at Mugello… http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2009/Pedrosa+top+speed+record+mugello
Im just saying he’s got bigger balls than any of the people bagging him on here. Funny thing is, I don’t particularly like Lorenzo, but I do respect his riding, and I’m sure he’ll show up on the grid and do what he has to do. He will win more championships, maybe not next year (the Hondas are too advanced) but at some point he’ll win another championship or two.
http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2009/Pedrosa+top+speed+record+mugello
Old news… Pedrossa went that fast in 2009 at Mugello on an 800cc Honda.
What a sissy. Paid HUGE amounts of money to ride a fast bike and he complains. Where are the real men in this society?
Rossi would still lose in the corners:)
Maybe to Stoner, but that’s it.
Like at Laguna Seca, when Rossi passed Stoner on the inside, through the Corkscrew, in the dirt as he passed? LOL!
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/photogallerys/Rossi_Stoner_corkscrew.jpg
Limiting the top speed would help Rossi. The seasons he didn’t win were when he was down on top speed, like the year Stoner won his first title.
With limited top speeds the races would be won in the corners.
If current crop of tires is unsafe at higher speed, I would suggest the answer would be not a speed limiter which sounds really silly in the context of, you know, racing – but better tires. It shouldn’t be beyond our technology to come up with tires that can cope with additional 20mph, given there are plenty of cars that reach such speeds.
If it were that easy then it’d already be done. A car and motorcycle tire are completely different things. This concern is the same reason that they don’t race the fast bikes at the Daytona 200 any longer.
How are they different? They are black and made of rubber and go round and round 🙂 Seriously though, the difference in speed isn’t *that* big – are you seriously telling me they can’t improve their compounds to cope with additional 20 mph? I find it hard to believe. But I do find it easy to believe Bridgestone won’t bother until pushed to do so. Maybe it’s time to bring back some competition to this monopoly… hang on a sec, how did we end up with a single tire supplier for MotoGP? That would be thanks to Rossi, wouldn’t it…
re: “are you seriously telling me they can’t improve their compounds to cope with additional 20 mph?”
they can, but then everybody would be back to complaining about warm-up and handling. there is no “free lunch” to be had in tyre construction. but of course we apply a free lunch mentality to anything and everything here in the 21st century.
^This^.
20mph up at that end of the speed range is a very big difference. The wind drag is very significant. An accelerating vehicle’s tire is spinning 12-15% faster against the ground then it is travelling. At Daytona a couple of years ago YOsh/Suzuki’s telemetry was showing that with the bike going ~200mph on the banking, the tire was spinning @ 225mph. At 100mph, it’s no big deal, @ 220mph, huge deal.
Difference between car/motorcycle is that a car tire will never be asked to tilt 45* and provide safe, predictable traction.
We do not actually know whether or not Mr. Rossi is afraid. We only know what he said. Those two things are not always the same. And there’s also a difference between what may be prudence or caution on the part of Mr. Lorenzo, and fear. Pointing out danger does not mean one is afraid. This is what should be termed “intelligence.”
As another poster stated, if the bikes speed exceeds the safe limits of the “tires” then that is the danger. Sounds reasonable to me – not fearful at all.
Daytona has been dealing with this speed and tire problem for some time now. They know it is not safe to push beyond the limits of the tires. Lorenzo is questioning tire development and safety not the speed. A Moto GP bike does not have wings creating down force and traction, this is why the rear wheel on a Moto GP bike is still spining faster than its actual speed at 200mph, this creates high rates of tire wear and heat, the ingrediance for tire failure. Do we realy want to find out the hard way befor questioning rider safety? I for one don’t find it acceptable to lose lifes befor looking into a possible problem, we can see comming.
so far, the only other person on here who seems to have a clue (other than myself) is brad. the rest of the comments here may as well be followed up with spit into the eyes of paulo and rosella simoncelli.
So, the rest of us are clueless are we – Hey NOBODY is FORCING LORENZO TO RACE – Change the RULES just for him – I don’t think so … If you had your way I guess weall would be wrapped up in cotton wool and stored away somewhere safe – What a great life that would be — and your comment regarding the Simoncelli’s is pathetic – Marco died doing something HE wanted to do – RACE MOTORCYCLES – I think that he would be saying similar things about lorenzo and the stupid rule/s – He was a Great rider with a PASSION for Racing and I’m sure that HE would not want any Speed Restrictions – Would HE ?
re: “So, the rest of us are clueless are we”
basically…
You’re full of yourself Norm G.
Chicken, this is Rossi’s year, I can feel it. Stoner is the man to beat…
Reading a lot of the comments here a lot of you guys are wasted doing whatever job you are doing – you should be out there showing these guys how to ride these “easy” MotoGP bikes. 🙂
Hey, it’s not that we critisisers are wanting to show our talents – it is a whining Moto GP rider not wanting to go fast, if you are wanting to race then damn well RACE … if you don’t want to go flat out down the straights then stay home is what people are saying – leave it to the GENUINE RACERS who wish to conquer speed … – Me personally – I am to old for that stuff thesedays but there were no stupid restrictions in my day ….. we went to RACE !!!
….i guess his getting old or his wife’s on his back. lol. But seriously, crashes and unfortunately, deaths, is what gets some fans to see a race.
Top speed on the straights isn’t where these guys crash. It’s in the corners. If you’ve ever done a track day, you’ll understand what I mean. And in the corners you aren’t going 218. Lorenzo is worried about nothing.
Bet you didn’t see Shinya Nakano’s tyre blow up on a straight a few years ago on a 990cc Kawasaki.
Was insanely scary to watch.
Lorenzo is the only one out of the current crop or frontrunners that has no experience from the 990cc era. That might be part of the reason.
Is he concerned because he’s substantially smaller than everyone else and is afraid of the bike?
I’m not sure the small increase in speed over the outgoing models will dictate a drastically different outcome to an accident. Admittedly: I don’t really want to crash at 350km/h – but then again: I don’t want to crash at 200km/h either.
There’s about 18% increase in kinetic energy (1/2mV^2) between 218 and 200. That means there’s that much more energy absorbed by the tires, brakes, frame, suspension, and transmission. The rider must absorb the extra energy of their own weight during acceleration and braking. Comparing this to potential energy, how many of us could add 18% to our body weight and do a pullup? That being said, I wish they’d limit the “safety” electronics so that skilled racing and raw bike performance differentiate the field rather than software.
Nascar implemented a speed limiter a few years back when race cars where pushing well over 200 mph for safety reasons and to make the field more competitive, on the really big tracks it comes down to just who has the best mechanically intact vehicle and the pit stops.
Please don’t start this with MotoGP, like they did with Nascar. You can only go but so fast on a track anyway, so let the racers find that limit, I belive racing is what it is racing, when you start puting in rules, restrictor plates, or even speed limited ECU’s you take away the excitment of the race. Because it reduces the risk involved and that is what atracks the crowd sadly is the SPEED and the risk involved.
Lorenzo has always been a whiner. Sure, MotoGp is risky.. so is driving to work each morning. Maybe restrictor plates.. and HANS devices,.. and safer barriers.. yeah, that’s the ticket..!
Or maybe it’s time to park it.
Lorenzo has reached an agreement with Yamaha regarding his concern about the top speed of the new MotoGP 1000 bikes. It should be announced later today that he is their new headline rider in the Moto3 class…
re: “He seems to be concerned about a flat tire or other mechanical issue causing a rider to go down at these speeds.”
if memory serves, motogp “body count” currently stands at 3, so regardless of whether or not the issue is addressed, lorenzo’s concern is a sign of intelligence. safety is PROACTIVE… not reactive.
I don’t believe any deaths have occured from high speed. It’s either in braking or cornering. Admittedly, they’re gonna have to start braking earlier from higher speed, you can only corner so hard (so far). The top speed doesn’t seem to be the problem.
I can see him wanting it done electronically so everyone is on the same page. As long as somebody is WFO,300+ he’s gonna have to also or lose his alien status.
re: “I don’t believe any deaths have occured from high speed.”
do they have to…? repeat, safety is PROACTIVE not reactive.
What a wimp. Time to move back to Spain Lorenzo and start driving those SEAT. Those car have airbags and an iron cage; much safer then those scary and fast MotoGP bikes that they pay you to ride.
+1!
If he’s that worried about top speed all he has to do is roll off the throttle a little bit.
Good point. Where’s his balls?
Seriously? The difference between crashing at 200 versus 220 on a bike? I can’t imagine that is where the huge knee in the survivability curve is.
If I’m reading Lorenzo’s concern correctly, the difference is that a 200mph crash won’t happen and the 220mph crash will because of unpredictable tire or other equipment failure.
probably the fastest crash we’ve ever seen was Shinya Nakano on a Kawasaki when his rear tyre exploded on the straight at Mugello, probably the fastest straight in MotoGP at the time. It was miraculous that a guy came off a bike at 200 mph and survived – in fact he got a podium 2 weeks later! Another 10 mph is of little consequence. Simoncelli was killed at less than 100 mph and whilst speed might be a issue, it’s one of many factors that contribute to the risks of being a motorcyclist. Maybe Lorenzo would be more comfortable in Moto2…..?
So, Lorenzo is starting to WIMP OUT already is he … Hey, if you want to race with SPEED Limiters then give up the SPORT – What the hell difference is there around 300kph anyway – just kiss your a$$ goodbye – if you are going to worry about those sort of things then I strongly believe it IS time to give the game away, because you are only going to get more paranoid about it – Jeez, the next thing he is going to want is Sirens and Flashing Lights and DAY GLOW Orange vests and TRAINING WHEELS …. Grow UP you SOOK …
So what happens if there are speed limiters? Packs of bike will end up clustered together on the straights, drafting would not be allowed if it caused a bike to exceed that top speed, so you’d have clumps of bikes tying to outbrake each other at the end of the straights. Sounds like a cluster-****, if you’ll pardon my French.
It isn’t as much fun to watch MotoGP as it used to be, since the electronics, that much I know. How fast is too fast? I think the faster bikes will make for more competitive racing. It will once again be about who has the biggest balls instead of who has the most horsepower, and from that standpoint it is a good thing for viewers. I can certainly appreciate the riders’ concerns though. We’re talking about life and death here. Riders do occasionally die in these races, so I have no problem with someone like Lorenzo voicing his concerns. I don’t think that makes him any less of a man, or any less of a skilled rider.
AGREED!
My information has it that Stoner’s throttle control is better than the electronic systems . Stoner was able to adapt to the Ducati where Rossi and Stoners team mates were unable . Telemetry has shown Stoner consistently losing and recovering the front end during qualifying something that other riders have not been able to do to get the Ducati competitive . This has forced a rebuild of the chassis to give the new riders more feedback and be competitive . There is no doubt that Rossi has earned unqualified praise for his repeated victories . To dismiss Stoner as a lesser rider ignores the facts . At this point in time he deserves to be ‘THE’ world champion . Whether he would have taken victories from Rossi at another time and place we will never know . Every single one of those riders out there deserves admiration in my estimation.
Bikes are dangerous. Get used to it. I broke my femur in two places and am still out there doing as many rides as I can. We pay you to take chances we can’t or won’t. Shut up and race.
re: “Bikes are dangerous. Get used to it. I broke my femur in two places and am still out there doing as many rides as I can. We pay you to take chances we can’t or won’t. Shut up and race.”
omg, how embarrasing. by the power invested in me, and the context of the recent high profile death of Marco Simoncelli not even 120 days ago, i hereby nominate the above comment as THE WORST EVER POSTED IN THE HISTORY OF THE INTERNET…!!! i mean just when we think industry damaging fan/consumer behavior couldn’t get any worse…? 2012 sees us hitting an all new high water mark, or is this a LOW water mark…? going forward, i will now cite this comment as my new “exhibit-A” indicative of everything that is wrong with the industry. economy shmonomy… the economy’s got NOTHING on devauling sentiment like this folks.
Unless this response was meant as an incendiary device to stir up the waters and rabble rouse (in which case… uh great job?), then it makes no sense. Blaming consumers for the state of the motorcycle industry? Based on a comment about racing? Seems like a stretch, but okay. However, tying Marco Simoncelli (RIP Super Sic) to an argument about the risks taken in a TOP SPEED conversation? No relationship whatsoever. Sensationalism and exploitative, sure. Again, if that was the goal – strange, but good job.
I stand by my comment. At 6’6″, I cannot race professionally, or by god I would. I go to track days, have thrown a bike down at my local track (Infineon), follow MotoGP, AMA, WSB and wish – honestly wish I was built like a 5’6″ Italian man sometimes. I simply can’t take the risks the MotoGP guys take. For everyone else that physically can but choose not to race – that’s okay too. But we still swarm to the races, we still idolize our heroes. We still feel awe when watching these supermen ride the very razors edge. And it thrills us. And we buy bikes in part because we’re inspired. And when we have our Sunday rides and take a corner a little hot and it surges the adrenaline and we lean more than we’re comfortable as our sphincter closes right up; we feel humbled. We realize that the risks we’re comfortable taking are enough and it gives us even more of a measure of what they do and we’re in awe. Let the tracks limit their speed. No one is expecting a top speed arms race here; no one even pays attention to top speed other than a fascination. But to limit all other racers’ abilities because one whiny Spaniard isn’t comfortable – at the level of THE BEST talent on the planet? No. Absolutely not. Shut up and race.
re: “I stand by my comment.”
no ya don’t. that’s why you’re back-peddling and attempting redirects over that atrocious and irresponsible comment. someone doth protest too much. wanna make amends…? don’t waste your time with me, apologize to lorenzo. no better yet, apologize to the simoncellis, the tomizawas, and the lenzs.
I think modern electronics and fuel limits is ruing the sport. I think Rossi would be untouchable if the electronics were to be removed. Poor Stoner would be in the gravel pit again. If they want to slow down the bikes for greater safety they would change to more normal tiers. The terrible accident that happened to Marco wouldn’t have happened if the tiers were not so god that they grip even when you are almost on your side.
It’s no easier to race GP now than it was in 2000. If it were, Rossi would still be on top.
The only reason why Rossi is not on top is that lesser riders like Stoner and Lorenzo now have electronic aids. Rossi can’t bring himself to just lay the bike over, turn the throttle all of the way, and trust the electronics. Every nerve in his body, synapse in his brain, and reflex that he’s built over the decades just won’t let him do that.
If GP bikes weren’t easier to ride now, Rossi would still be on top because, frankly, he’s the best motorcycle road racer since Agostini. You can’t honestly believe that Stoner or Lorenzo has Rossi’s skills. Please!
Where were Rossi’s competitors before the electronic aids came into play? In 2006, Stoner crashed in 6 out of 17 races and finished the season with less than half as many points as Rossi. Every time someone mentions limiting electronics, Stoner goes into a panic, claiming that the bikes would be so dangerous without traction control.
So true…
Amazing how electronics helped some kind of riders and did the opposite to others.
Remember what biaggi, barros, kenny and capirossi used to do with the violent 2 strokes,
it was normal that they would arrive between 1-5 second from Valentino at that time.
Now compare what gibernau did with the same bike/team as Kenny (nothing) when Jr was champion
and later on the RVC.
How people forget things fast…
Every great rider’s most important attribute is their ability to continue to improve with the changes of the times/equipment. If Rossi can’t “bring himself” to ride the new bikes the way they can be ridden then he is less skilled than those he’s losing to, not more so. I like the guy and agree, he’s an all time great, but the reality is that his competitors are going faster than him now because they’re better then he is. No other reason.
Calling the guys he’s losing to “lesser” is the bitter, immature insult of a person that can’t stand watching a hero’s time come to pass.
“Lesser” is the same term that Grand Prix champ Randy Mamola used for Rossi’s rivals, saying “Valentino would be smoking these guys on 500s. He’s the best rider out there, but with these bikes that mask errors and let riders of lesser ability run in the same second…”
You want to tell Randy Mamola that he is “bitter and immature”? You don’t strike me as the kind of person who’s man enough to say something like that when you’re not hiding behind your monitor.
You are completely, 100% incorrect about the best riders being those who blindly trust firmware. John Surtees said: “There needs to be a compromise, because you can’t have a situation where you just wind it open and let the electronics do all the work. That’s, well, a little frightening.”
Some quotes:
Rossi: “Now is like everybody the same, because all the acceleration, all the anti-wheelie is controlled from the bike. So I hope that to fix this problem that the 1000 bike, so is not enough just 1000. The problem is the electronics, so I hope they try to make less electronics with the 1000cc bikes.”
Kevin Schwantz: “I’d love to see them without any electronics whatsoever.”
Randy Mamola: “let’s get rid of traction control and make it all about the riders!”
Kenny Roberts, Sr.: “I gave my opinion a long time ago. I said to ban traction control, ban fly-by-wire and get us all on the same control tires a long time ago.”
Kenny Roberts, Jr.: “I want to watch the best riders in the world, not the best electronics.”
Alex Barros: “In the past, with less electronics, the rider was able to make the difference. But right now, it neutralises it a little bit. Maybe Ducati, Yamaha and Honda have to talk about this for the future.”
Giacomo Agostini: “Personally, like many other riders, I don’t like electronics very much. I’d prefer the bike to be managed by the rider only and not electronics that drive your wrist.”
Dennis Noyes: “Would you oppose anti-gravity shoes in basketball or ball-seeking bats in baseball? I would.
Spellcheck is not allowed in spelling bees and for that same reason Formula 1, the premier discipline of automobile racing, overrode all the opposition and not only banned traction control and ABS but, more importantly, found a way to police their ban via hackproof ECUs.
…
I prefer bikes, but the ‘Luddites’ who banned traction control in F1 must be doing something right and if you listen to those F1 engines now you will realize that, once the electronics were neutralized, the emphasis went back to building engines with lineal and manageable power delivery, which is what motorcycle manufacturers really should be doing instead of loading up the handlebars with buttons.”
___________________________
Hopefully, that will be enough to convince you to stop inflicting your childish insults and uninformed opinions on all of us.
There is also this thing called “aging,” see … and I’m fairly certain Rossi is not exempt from it. As we get older, several things happen: 1) Our reflexes get slower, 2) Our muscles get weaker and 3) Mortality dawns on us. No one gets to be champ forever. It’s a simple fact. Rossi has had a long run, but I suspect his time is up.
Rossi is not aging in the context you provided. Reflexes, muscles, and mortality do not set in during the 30s for single males. Many people may consider their 30s the strongest of times.
The only time I’ve seen many tire failures or straightway crashes is Daytona. We’re sure getting some spoiled racers it seems. I know I’d be leery but that’s because I work on my own bikes and aren’t a real wrench. These guys want the electrics to ride the bike. Good article with Colin & Fast Freddy about the best trusting the electronics, shame to see racing come to that.
re: “The only time I’ve seen many tire failures or straightway crashes is Daytona.”
daytona, road atlanta, mugello, etc.
I agree, even Rossi had to come to grip with those monsters!
We are talking about Motorcycle Racing…….right!!!
I wonder what it’s like, sitting up at the end of a straightaway and getting slammed by a 218 mph wind blast. Amazing that those little fellas can even hang on to the grips.
We are seeing an entire crop of riders who want the computers to do much of the skilled work, whether it’s traction control, wheelie control, or speed limits.
I just want to put them all out there with Rossi on fire-breathing two-strokes and watch them get spit off over and over until they learn some humility and some respect for the men who rode bikes where the only ECU was their right hand. Put them on bikes like Rossi’s NSR500 from 2001 and find out how well they ride when they can’t just lay the bike over and open the throttle.
I’m not sure a tire blowout at 218 is going to be much worse than a blowout at a current capable 200. Just because Rossi is not afraid that does not automatically dismiss Lorenzos fears. What do the majority of the riders think?Its their asses on the line.