MOTOGP » Inside Yamaha's 2008 YZR-M1

(cont.) get back some of the specticle that the fans are praying for. I fear that the powers running the sport are not /will not listen to the fans like us so we will have to put up with the mid race battles, which can be very good like laguna, and the boring later laps.
Last thing i will say is that i think yamaha's desclosure of their design ideas and development processes is really interesting and shows just how much goes into making a bike competitive these days. i like their open-ness and the way they let the fans know what's going on behind the scenes. I only wish the other manufacturers would give something back to the fans in the same way.

"An M1 has slipstreamed a duc plenty of times this year. The last one I recall was Lorenzo on Melandri, at valencia i think."

damo, that was Lorenzo slipstreamed a Suzuki, If I remember correctly a Yam was never slipstreamed a duc along the main straights, it just outbraking the duc

This Presentation describes M1 2008 improvements over the 2007 version, it's surely a major improvements. However as stated by Rossi, technically it's not enough to catch ducati.

Remove the Rider factor, and comparing all the bikes directly then ducati will comes up as a winner (Best accelerations, Best Top Speed, Best Lean Angle, and Best of exiting a corner), second would be Honda and Yamaha in the next, however a race is not just determine by machine factor but the skill of the rider as well.

If you have ducati and it feels comfortable plus the bike suit your riding style, you already have 50% of chances in the bag to win before the race begin.
So I expecting more from the 2009 version

Hmmm.....50% in the bag for the win huh.....Well maybe you dont think the saying "Seeing is believing" has any truth, so maybe reading about what I have below may change your belief. So John "Explain why Yamaha managed a clean sweep of all four MotoGP titles at Valencia, with Valentino Rossi taking the riders' title, Fiat Yamaha the team title, Yamaha itself the manufacturers' title and Jorge Lorenzo beat Andrea Dovizioso to Rookie of the Year."

That's exactly my point Dray, The Skill Matter and currently only Rossi can beat that "50% in the bag", if 2008 season without Rossi in Yamaha, who gonna win the WC? I think you already know

Rossi, Burgis and Yamaha deserve a lot of credit in making the bike better than it was in 2007. However from half way on in the season it was basically Rossi and his determination to win that made the difference. The Ducati's speed is amazing as well as its acceleration which is still a problem for Yamaha. While it's nice that Yamaha got their head out of their buttt's this year they need to improve in all facets including overall power, acceleration, electronics and handling if they want to continue winning. You know that Ducati will be streching their advantages and Honda can't be too far behind.

Letoye, you're absolutely right that Rossi made the difference and without him it would have been a runaway for Ducati. I recall one interview with Rossi before the '08 season noting that if his new Yamaha can be within 5 MPH of the top speed bike (Ducati) then he could compete for wins but if 10 to 15 MPH slower it would be much more difficult. Yamaha and the other manufacturers should expect Ducati and Honda to improve even more so they need to make the appropriate changes to match or exceed those levels to assure they're not caught with their pants down like in '07.

No Marc, if Rossi wasn't in it Stoner would have narrowly won the title from Miniman. If you want to argue that the reason the M1 has been on the podium in every round is mostly Rossi then you CANNOT look past the fact that ONLY Stoner has been anywhere on the Ducati for two seasons now!

Yamaha are using the big bang engine because it offers the best overall performance of any engine out there, pure asnd simple.

Letoye, the M1 has drafted a Duc this year. At most races the M1 was only about 1% slower down the straight, nothing compared to the other advantages offered by their uneven firing order, which Rossi obviously agrees with!

Well damo, who rode the M1 that "drafted" a duc this Year? Lorenzo? or James toseland or maybe Colin Edward?

hmmm... Big Bang engine actually have a smoother engine so it has an advantage in stability that suit Rossi's maneuver in outbrakes and overtaking.
But about engine performance, since it smoother it can't achieved maximum Horse power compare to screamer engine that Ducati and Honda are using.
But I admitted Yamaha has done a good Job since a "slower" Big Bang Engine even beat a screamer engine that kawasaki and Suzuki are using

What overall performance and other advantages do you talking anyway?

Rossi is the only advantage Yamaha have.





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