• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Qatar IRTA Test | MotoGP 2008

Var said:
Ok guys..something doesn't look right. Elias and Melandri are more than capable riders, riding on the best bike available. Melandri is on a factory bike. Not saying Stoner isn't a great rider, but what gives?
Click to expand...


I've been saying for the last 6 months that it is Stoner, not the Ducati.....or at least the combo of the 2. They just work well together, it is not that the Duc is that far ahead of everyone, Stoner just found the magic form. I think if you put him on anything he would be at the top of the sheets, or damn close. Time will tell.....this season is going to be juicy. Hayden should not have problems with the lights...he grew up racing flat-track, I am sure there was lots of racing under the lights:thumbup
 
It almost looks like a FEW people turned a couple laps on the Q tires, but not everyone. I mean, I know that Stoner is fast, but really!


Lonster
 
Teddy said:
I think if you put him on anything he would be at the top of the sheets, or damn close.
Click to expand...

pretty bold statement considering how he did in '06. But who knows, maybe he just did progress that much as a rider ..but he would have had to done it in the off season between 06 and 07. :confused
 
If Stoner were off the Ducati things would be much different :x It is a match made in Motogp heaven.
 
jrace said:
Stoners' on fire in the dark..

Lap times as of 8.00PM (partial list..)

Stoner 1'55.368
Dovizioso 1'57.202
Rossi 1'57.277
Lorenzo 1'57.537
Edwards 1'57'.679

-jim
Click to expand...

He doesn't need lights, he just reads the matrix code on the inside of his visor.
 
:teeth
Var said:
pretty bold statement considering how he did in '06. But who knows, maybe he just did progress that much as a rider ..but he would have had to done it in the off season between 06 and 07. :confused
Click to expand...

Yeah, he probably should have won the title his rookie year on a satelite Honda after riding 250's for ages......sad that it took him all of 2 seasons to win the title, in dominant form.... :rolleyes

The kid is fast as hell, the bike is great too.....but the bike does not produce the same results with anyone else on it. That tells me that the rider is probably making the difference....or he just found a bike that works great for him. I still say that if you put him on a Repsol Honda, a Fiat Yammie, or even the Zook or Kaw he would be miles ahead of anyone else riding the same bike. It is just his time right now it seems. Long season, and I guess it really doesn't matter at the end of the day cause he is on the Duc and they certainly aren't going to let him go anytime soon. I just hope things aren't all wrapped up with rounds to go...
 
Everyone has said and agrees Stoner is really good with the traction control on the Ducati. He is a real good rider though. As for Melandri, it's taking a lot longer for him to get used to the bike. Same thing with Nicky when the 800 came out which looked like it was purpose built for Pedrosa
 
Teddy said:
:teeth

Yeah, he probably should have won the title his rookie year on a satelite Honda after riding 250's for ages......sad that it took him all of 2 seasons to win the title, in dominant form.... :rolleyes

The kid is fast as hell, the bike is great too.....but the bike does not produce the same results with anyone else on it. That tells me that the rider is probably making the difference....or he just found a bike that works great for him. I still say that if you put him on a Repsol Honda, a Fiat Yammie, or even the Zook or Kaw he would be miles ahead of anyone else riding the same bike. It is just his time right now it seems. Long season, and I guess it really doesn't matter at the end of the day cause he is on the Duc and they certainly aren't going to let him go anytime soon. I just hope things aren't all wrapped up with rounds to go...
Click to expand...

i'm not necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with you but looking at it in a different way. Yes Stoner is a brilliant rider, but his rookie year he crashed out all over the place, took one podium, but did pretty well for a rookie @ 7th place overall.

So the '06 season was over and he is signed with Ducati. In between the 06 and the 07 season, did he magically get a new skill-set that allowed him to not crash ONCE during a single race and win 10 out of 18? I think he definitely matured as a rider over the one short year, but to say he would have done just as well on any bike is not the way i see it. He already had something great in the form of riding skills, but the machine wasn't up to the task. Now he's matched up with his soulmate, the Gp7/Gp8, Bridgestones, and a team of engineers that are dedicated to catering to his every riding need. It's a complete package that's at work here.
 
Var said:
i'm not necessarily agreeing or disagreeing with you but looking at it in a different way. Yes Stoner is a brilliant rider, but his rookie year he crashed out all over the place, took one podium, but did pretty well for a rookie @ 7th place overall.

So the '06 season was over and he is signed with Ducati. In between the 06 and the 07 season, did he magically get a new skill-set that allowed him to not crash ONCE during a single race and win 10 out of 18? I think he definitely matured as a rider over the one short year, but to say he would have done just as well on any bike is not the way i see it. He already had something great in the form of riding skills, but the machine wasn't up to the task. Now he's matched up with his soulmate, the Gp7/Gp8, Bridgestones, and a team of engineers that are dedicated to catering to his every riding need. It's a complete package that's at work here.
Click to expand...

If there was a sarcastic tone to my reply, it was not intended. All I am saying is if there is one guy dominating, and there are more experienced and very talented riders on the same bike not getting results.....then you have to credit the rider. And, yes, he could improve that much in one season. A lot goes into riding fast...confidence and comfort level are premiums. He obviously gained a ton of experience pushing the limits his first year (crashing can be a good lesson....and he got some good lessons in '06!), combine that with being comfortable in the MotoGP world (I know he raced 250's in the series, but I would assume that there is a pretty serious pressure increase riding in the big class:thumbup) and some TC to help ease his stress when he is pushing the limits and the crashes from his rookie season are far removed from his memory. I just think that people still give the Duc too much credit and Stoner not enough. The Duc is a nasty beast, no doubt, they got it right.

The best part of the whole thing is that they will race this season and all of our posturing on this little forum will not have any impact on the results, so we can watch and see who rises to the top. Cant wait, I am looking forward to this season more than I was looking forward to seeing Nicky try and defend....that went up in smoke early on didn't it..... I just want to see the boys bang some elbows already! MotoLiam, wanna switch jobs for 6-8 months??:teeth
 
Var said:
In between the 06 and the 07 season, did he magically get a new skill-set that allowed him to not crash ONCE during a single race and win 10 out of 18?
Click to expand...

See what a regular BJ will do for a guy? :thumbup

-jim
 
jrace said:
See what a regular BJ will do for a guy? :thumbup

-jim
Click to expand...

aye...in chronological order

21439stoner.jpg


0535306000.jpg


0550036900.jpg
 
^^^ :laughing

FYI....

Track temperatures dropped to 15ºC as the cool desert air made tyre choice a major issue...
Click to expand...

That's 59ºF... a very cold (dry and dirty) track by MotoGP standards.

-jim
 
jrace said:
See what a regular BJ will do for a guy? :thumbup

-jim
Click to expand...

Kind of, yep. Happiness has improved him in general.

Seriously, I just glanced at the Kropotkin MotoGP blog and I saw that during qualifying Stoner is the fastest.. again.

So --if Stoner wins the first race.. or the first three races or whatever, I'm completely losing interest in MotoGP. I may buy a Ducati for a road bike someday , but as for the MotoGP--whatever from then on.
 
i'm mostly excited about downloading all the races onto my hard drive and putting them on DVD
 
Get rid of the TC, and we will start seeing more inconsistencies from the riders, as well better racing....been reading up on this issue/argument, in F1 racing as well as MOTO GP, for the past year or so... Will be interesting to see how the F1 boys get along w/o TC, more 1st gear spins outs is my guess.... :nerd

Not trying to discredit any rider out there, but I think we would see a "truer" form of their riding abilities w/o TC onboard. Obviously the Duc/Stoner package works really well, but not for Melandri...? But enough of the analyzing right now.......let's go to/watch the races! Woohoo!!!!
 
Yeah, yeah, Stoner kicking ass as usual, what else is new. :teeth

I'm more interested in how those photographers get such great shots with minimal lighting.
 
slim313 said:
Yeah, yeah, Stoner kicking ass as usual, what else is new. :teeth

I'm more interested in how those photographers get such great shots with minimal lighting.
Click to expand...

hmm that is a good question. maybe a phenomenal IS lens w/ a really wide apeture? though theres def much better lighting that your standard football stadium.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top