moto2 consequence

[touring919]

Was thinking. I'm wondering if WSB and maybe even AMA may not be the new training ground for motoGP riders.

Since moto2 has no traction control the riders are being trained not to know how to tune it. Without the ability to tune TC a rider is at a huge disadvantage. I would think someone can learn a track way sooner than learning how to tune TC.

Whats everyone else think.

[Shmoo]

I'm lost. Smithwick's may be getting the best of me, but it sounds like you're saying both WSB/AMA and Moto2 both are not the ideal minor leagues?

Spies showed us that he can arrive and beat the field at a track he's never visited before, on an inferior bike.

It's probably a bit early to say, since Moto2 is still 'new', but it looks like they pulled from WSB more than the mid GP class this past season. Abraham doesnt count, he kind of got the help to get into the top class.

I thought I read somewhere that Laverty opted for WSB, after seeing that its path looked better than Moto2 (Melandri, even).

[AllanB]

I'm with Rossi - dumb the bikes down again.

[arctic954]

I love the first disk of FASTER --- where they're still riding the 500 2-strokes.... that was crazy stuff.....

Gary McCoy was one bad-ass dude.

[touring919]

Well maybe wsb and ama never ended as a good training ground. But it seems to me that moto2 is less of a good training ground than it used to be.

Now that wsb and ama can use traction control and motoGP will be going back to 1000cc engines. It seems a 600 spec class is only going to teach riders how to ride (a good thing). Not ride AND tune (a bad thing). The biggest part of tuning now a days is TC. Without that ability, alot of new motoGP riders will be lost. I think.

In general. I'm all for dumbing the bikes down. The whole deal about not alowing TC is bad because of development is BS. There are a ton of rules in the rule book. ABS is used and developed on street bikes with no help from prototype races.
And thiss is a sport. Make it a challenge for the riders. Not the software engineers.

[mpcb04919]

Wait till they bring moto1 in 2012. I think it was Bradley Smith in 2010 that said moto2 was all about the rider. The rider constantly has to make adjustments to their riding style to gain an advantage and that extra second because the bikes are so evenly matched. In motogp the rider is an important element but the guys with the factory bikes have the advantage.

[Shmoo]

This is a hard discussion. 250's taught riders cornering speeds, and I think 600's are doing the same.

The thing about bringing down the power on the MotoGP bikes is that it may make it easier to ride - most GP riders have said that the current 800's are easier to ride, correct? I think I read somewhere that guys subbing in from WSB to MotoGP over the last couple of years saying that the 800's were definitely faster, but easier to manage than the decked out SB's.

I thought watching Roger Lee a couple of years back was pretty amazing - didn't he take 10th as a wild card @ Laguna? I know a lot has to do with knowing the track, but still.

[Effe]

There will be radical changes in all segments very soon.

[HondaJim]

I think Moto2 was a smart move. Two stokes are great, but not many being made/sold for the street anymore. Manufacturers want to put money into something they can sell. The tight racing will improve those riders. I don't think you need too much traction control on a 600cc machine. But since the bikes are so close, chassis setup and rider ability play a huge part.

WSB will contine to feed up some riders, but AMA? IMO, that is the most f'ed up class of motorcycle racing I have ever seen. Spies and Maladin got out at the right time. The AMA has taken US motorcycle racing backwards.

[touring919]

Well I can't resist comenting on the last comment. Which strays from the OP.

I actually like what the AMA (DMG) has done. Unfortunatly they are not very orginized yet. But the races are much more entertaining to watch than anything from WSB or motoGP. They had multipule photo finishes last year. Many lead changes during a race. And those changes weren't a boaring pass and go. It was a fight for several laps. The bikes are less expensive and as club racer and sport bike enthusiast I find it more interesting to see bikes that are much closer to stock. Its not the trickest parts that make the fast bikes now. Its the best tuned and best riden bikes that are winning.

Funny thing is what DMG has done is not too far off of what many people are wishing to have done in other motorsports to help raise the entertainment bar. Or at least bring it back to where it was.

Yea I'm an engineer so I like seeing mechanical progress. But if it were up to me. I'd make motogp a spec class. Or at least put in spec ecu (no TC), give them 1000cc limit (coming in 2012) and slim the tires down to lower their cornering speeds. Garanteed good show. And not because everyone would be crashing. With bigger engines and smaller tires power would be limited by the tires. Using a bigger engine would make it easy to provide controlable power at the limited amounts the tires could handle. So the end resultts (in theory) would be bikes using many different lines, techniques to get around the track. Good for the sport and show.

[Shmoo]

Just to add, HondaJim, the GP classes aren't meant for production sales, IMO. Those are left to the WSBK, WSSP, AMA, BSB....etc. Although the GP technology trickles down to production, I see the MotoGP class as Formula 1 racing. You just keep pushing the technology to go faster.

And I'm betting Honda will learn something from the Moto2 class.