MOTOGP » Edwards unconvinced by test showing

"I''m all for making it a bigger spectacle, but two guys out in front with a twelve second lead after six laps? It''s a joke to me.” Yeah Colin, sort of agree. Moto gp has been a limited spectacle since I''ve been following it. Particularly with the small field it sucks to go and see it live. Suspect it''ll be even more of a bore when they get rid of 250''s. World Superbikes with control tyres is far more interesting and the vibe is always so much better amongst the punters too. And I''m an aussie and a Stoner fan. Go Westy!

I understand your feeling, but the logic of the argument is that everyone should be in a one make race like the Suzuki Cup, but even then the engines would need to be blueprinted to ensure nobody has an unfair advantage. And what about rider size and weight. Add permanent air-brakes and weight to the smaller riders bikes to compensate? I think the small grid is down to the change to 4 strokes - much more expensive, only factory mechanics can touch the engines etc. The factories should be forced to provide more (fully supported) engines for private teams to build frames around as in F1. Some riders will just remain BETTER than others, however. Handicaps for talent anyone?

The daft thing is, the 800s' were introduced to slow the bikes down and make the sport safer. Within less than two seasons Dorna are looking at ways of slowing corner speeds down when they were the ones instrumental in speeding it up. It really isn't rocket science to work out that most accidents in bike racing happen during a corner.

So accidents are up and spectacle is down. A piece of humble pie anyone??

for me the absolute nuber of accidents are still lower than in the 500 days, just look at the number of retirments / accidents in 2001.

Racing motorcycles = accidents, it will always be the case. the question is how to make the accidents that happen safer. Ignoring leathers etc. the best way I see of making it safer is to target the dangerous accidents - HighSides. As a club racer i much prefer the front to wash out than to highside, its cheaper and a lot less painfull

Michelin is missing Rossi...what a no-brainer.

But i do remember the comments of Edwards during the wintertests that he was glad Rossi went to Bridgestone so finally he could het his own tires.
Doesn't get him very far the last races.

At the moment....

Bridgestone VS Michelin: 9-3 nuff said.

What an excelent move from Rossi last year.

Michelin were lucky in the beginning for 2 reasons.

1. Rossi needed to addept to the Bridgestones
2. Stoner was clearly not fast at the beginning (started at Donnigton).

The win of Pedrosa was a really nice one...no comment about that.

Bridgestone made a coupple of steps forward this year and Michelin is staying where it is.

Problem is that the sport is now controlled by persons ('Expletive' deletive) who don't seem to understand the sport. Indeed, as Papa stated above, the introduction of the 800's by D*rna is now generally regarded as a retrograde step: I seem to remember that most people I know were bemoaning that before they had even hit the track! Seemed obvious to most, but not D*rna, that they would tend to mimic the 250 style and lead to increased corner speed.
.......Can't wait for the 600 donkeys to replace the 250's. Yet another masterstroke by the governing muppets, not!

The problem is that Dorna don't have control over engineering decisions. They relinquished control of all that to the MSMA, the organisation that represents the manufacturers. Honda floated the idea of the 800s and rammed it down everyone else's necks. In the end, ironically, the only manufacturer who wasn't in favour of the switch was Ducati. Dorna had no choice but to go along with Honda's proposal. Honda are also behind the proposal to overhaul the 250cc class and substitute it with a 600cc one. Neither KTM nor Aprilia are interested but it looks like it's going to go ahead too.

Edwards is just saying what we've all been feeling these last 2 seasons: MotoGP is edging towards a "dark age" where the machinery and tires are taking center stage, while the riders are (generally) becoming less of an influence on success than before. When you've got multiple riders saying, "Once I hit the apex, I can just pin it and let the electronics do the rest" or "the rider only makes a difference coming into the corner now as opposed to in AND out like the old days", you've got a problem. I'm generalizing a bit sure: the tire war is way off balance too. Anyway, I figure it'll continue to worsen the next couple seasons and then a rule change will have to be made. Limit TC IMHO.

I think I'll just watch the rest of the 250 season and WSS and be happy.Next year I won't have a reason to cut my rides short, just to get home to watch motor bike racing.....And yes Ihave a DVR. Just like the live feed.