2017 MotoGP/WSBK/Road Racing ThreadMotorbikes

[adamp93]

The first day of the first 2017 test was today and Casey Stoner was fastest because of course he bloody was!
I'd love to know what it would take for him to do one race this season, I'm sure a kickstarter would cover it.

 

[adamp93]

Honestly not a massive fan, normally Red Bull sponsored bikes look fantastic.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Honestly not a massive fan, normally Red Bull sponsored bikes look fantastic.

I was about to say what the heck is Hayden doing in a premier team...then I saw it was WSBK and I remembered. That scheme doesn't fit the bike well, obviously not like the cars and trucks it's put on. The blue gets narrowed so much.

 

[adamp93]

Kenan Sofuoglu will sit out the first 2 rounds making the Supersport championship very interesting this season.

Back to the Honda, from this angle I think it looks great:

The MV Agusta as always looks fantastic

Really looking forward to it all kicking off this weekend!

 

[Sick Cylinder]

Got up in the middle of the night to watch World Superbikes race 1 from Phillip Island - all I can say is what a great race!

Just finishing my breakfast then off to London for the Classic Car Show and Historic Motorsport International - then up in the middle of the night for race 2 and World Super Sport - what a great weekend!

 

[spyrrari]

Yes awesome first race of the 2017 season... looks like its going to be a great one this year!!




Spy.

 

[John Wells]

Great first race, World Superbikes, the Brits did well

 

[spyrrari]

Great second race aswell...



Spy.

 

[Vinylshark]

Endurance has lost one of its most endearing champions. Anthony Delhalle died today in Nogaro where he had started two days of testing with the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.
https://www.fimewc.com/tribute-to-anthony-delhalle/

My condolences to his family and the SERT. That's not how a season should start.

 

[Pillo-san]

Now we are talking

Will we see machines like we see in AKIRA or other scifi flicks? would be awesome

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Now we are talking

Will we see machines like we see in AKIRA or other scifi flicks? would be awesome

Was waiting for the front aero to finally start after the bans on the winglets. It was warned that it would happen. That's awesome let's see if Yamaha, Suzuki, Aprilla, and KTM do stuff similar or else where on the bike.

 

[adamp93]

I've just noticed this is a new thread!
Tom Sykes certainly answered our questions about whether someone would take 3rd in WSB to lose pole position by doing exactly that at the last corner. For next year they should make Rea start last at Thailand because he's too darn quick there.

 

[Carbonox]

No love for World Supersports? They could be in for one of the best seasons in quite a while, with the championship battle completely scrambled up after 2 rounds. Cluzel still stands at 0 points, as does Sofuoglu obviously due to the injury, and even the next biggest pre-season favorite Jacobsen is at 10. No points for former race winner Kyle Smith either, after blindness to penalty boards got him black flagged.

But of course, there's always the worrying scenario that Sofuoglu will just get back to destroying the field in an uninteresting manner once he's back... but for once he's got a bunch of pressure on him to get in good results ASAP.

 

[adamp93]

No love for World Supersports? .

Great start to the season but Cluzel must be devastated to not take advantage of Kenan being away, especially with his bike braking down like the MV did to him a lot last year.

For more bonkers racing the Asia talent cup is on YouTube again this season. Race 1
Race 2



Casey going trolling.

 

[adamp93]

Well if the first session is anything to go by we are in for a cracking season in the top class! But we all knew that anyway.

 

[Vinylshark]

Fantastic season opener, even if it got some delay at the start.
MotoGP just doesn't disappoint.

 

[adamp93]

The little bit of rain certainly spiced things up, perhaps they should sprinkle some water down before every race!

Maverick was just so impressive when he got his confidence back, and it seems Marquez was lucky there were a couple of crashes in the front group (nearly another one at the first corner with Cal and Vale coming together) otherwise he could have been even lower down.
As for Johan Zarco

 

[twitcher]

What a race! I feel bad for the French kid who crashed, forgetting his name right now If he can ride like that for the rest of the year, that could be really special to watch. The rest of the race was cracking too, right down to the wire . Gonna be another epic season I think.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

What a race! I feel bad for the French kid who crashed, forgetting his name right now If he can ride like that for the rest of the year, that could be really special to watch.

Johann Zarco. He's no slouch - he won the Moto2 title twice.

 

[Vinylshark]

Sad news from Donington Park

BSB: Ducati Cup rider Mick Whalley dies in Donington crash
A rider has died following a serious incident in today’s Ducati TriOptions Cup race at the opening round of the 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship.

Mick Whalley, from Sheppey in Kent, sustained serious injuries in a seven bike incident. He was immediately attended to by trackside medics before being taken to Queen’s Medical Centre Nottingham, where he succumbed to his injuries.
more

 

[adamp93]

Well that was a bit dramatic! Marquez already 37 points behind an unstoppable looking Maverick but Texas next week.

Moto 3 was as fun as ever, I can't remember seeing the same top 3 for 2 successive races before.

 

[mikeerfol]

Texas next week

2 weeks actually.

 

[adamp93]

2 weeks actually.

Oh, that seems strange since everyone and everything is already over that part of the world. Whenever it is, I'd say Marquez has to win there since it's been his track every year and if Maverick beats him again it will be extremely demoralising. When he was a few points behind the Yamahas 2 years ago he crashed even more (Mugello, Catalunya).

This weekend there is definitely BSB and the Le Mans 24.

 

[adamp93]

Incredible.

Aside from that, naughty boy Valentino. A moto 3 rider would get a 10 place penalty for what he did but luckily Maverick calmed down quickly.

 

[John Wells]

Excellent racing from Assen at the weekend, Worldsuper Bikes. All Brits did really well. Tom Sykes put up a good fight, considering his not feeling very well.

I thought the Supersport race, was going to be boring, they were showing the leader, going round. But turned out to be a cracking race.

 

[adamp93]

Very strong words from Chaz Davies about his incident with Rea in Superpole. Rea was completely at fault and didn't seem to realise at the time, which didn't help but apologised when he saw the footage and accepted the penalty. That should have been the end of it in my opinion but apparently not.
https://m.facebook.com/ChazDavies7/posts/10155314966939490:0

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Rumours abound that Valentino Rossi could retire at the end of 2018; Dorna have reportedly promised him a spot on the grid from 2019 if he wants to bring the VR46 project to MotoGP.

Meanwhile, Franco Morbidelli and Takaaki Nakagami are being linked to MotoGP rides next year, with Morbidelli possibly riding for Marc VDS and Nakagami on a second LCR bike with backing from Idemitsu.

 

[Whodoyouthink]

Every time I've watched MotoGP at Barcelona, there is always 1-2 corners that cause issues for almost the whole grid, with at least 2-3 riders flying off in succession. It's always surprised me how tricky the circuit can actually be, didn't get that perspective til I went around it in Assetto Corsa.

Didn't think it was a very good F1 track until recently either. I'd love to see them use the MotoGP last-corner layout, but I know that might be too amazing for race marshals to handle!

It was cool to see a mix up for once between the Repsol boys, I always root for Marquez, but seeing Perdrosa put on a well-won race is refreshing.

 

[adamp93]

Every time I've watched MotoGP at Barcelona, there is always 1-2 corners that cause issues for almost the whole grid, with at least 2-3 riders flying off in succession. It's always surprised me how tricky the circuit can actually be, didn't get that perspective til I went around it in Assetto Corsa.

Didn't think it was a very good F1 track until recently either. I'd love to see them use the MotoGP last-corner layout, but I know that might be too amazing for race marshals to handle!

It was cool to see a mix up for once between the Repsol boys, I always root for Marquez, but seeing Perdrosa put on a well-won race is refreshing.

It was Jerez, not Barcelona.

Anyway Dani did ride a brilliant race which I'm sure everyone always loves to see, he and Dovi are the nice guys of the paddock that go under the radar a bit sometimes.
The moto 3 however was just nuts like always, it's an absolute crime that Ramirez didn't get on the podium because he rode absolutely beautifully throughout. Fair play to Canet though, he looks like another rider who just needed one win under his belt to really kick on (like Binder did after winning there last year).

 

[prisonermonkeys]

like Binder did after winning there last year

Speaking of Binder, what happened to him? We don't get much coverage of the opening rounds here since they're all at unusual hours, and I find it odd that the reigning Moto3 champion should be dumped after just two races. Was he injured or something?