MotoGP 2015 Pre-Season Testing

[scottieducati]

Unbelievably excited to start seeing the Sepang 2 test times. My two takes from Day 1:

Dovisioso on the GP15: "On my first out lap, I could feel it was better" specifically talking about turn in and corner speed.

The speed of the Suzuki: Both riders inside the top 10, Aleix is 4th and almost into the 2:00's, ahead of both Lorenzo AND Marquez (who admittedly has braking issues).

If Ducati and Suzuki can be competitive, this year just got so much better.

Discuss....

[cdovego]

This year just got amazing. Like you said - Suzuki, Ducati, seamless gearboxes, rookies hauling ass already, last year of Bridgestone ...there is so much to be excited for!

[JettaJayGLS]

I'm happy Jack Miller hasn't figured it out yet. Never really like him much.

Day 1 times in variable conditions don't mean a lot, but I too am still excited to see how its shaking out. Although, looking at times from the prior test, things seem status quo.

[Paul_E_D]

It will be extremely hard to break the status quo. As long as Yamaha, Suzuki and Ducati can make progress, it will be more interesting.

[Kurlon]

This year just got amazing. Like you said - Suzuki, Ducati, seamless gearboxes, rookies hauling ass already, last year of Bridgestone ...there is so much to be excited for!

I see what you did there!

[Paul_E_D]

OK, It's safe to say that the GP15 is a step forward for Ducati...FINALLY. Boy, the previous team bosses must be looking for work in another industry... Gigi has schooled them! From improving the old bike a lot, to developing a new one that is more than a second quicker on day 1. Impressive feat, to be sure.

[Viper897]

Its a welcome sigh of relief that Ducati have a competitive machine, its great to see so many people at the front looking competitive and that the new guys are fast out of the box.

BUT...

This is testing and not an actual race, its about going out for a few laps at a time testing parts. When they do the race simulations there times go down. Also remember the open class bikes get the super soft tires allotted to them so they will naturally look super competitive in a test and in practice cause they can go out and set a stupid fast lap cause of shear grip. If you read a post on moto matters they have an article as to why testing is just well testing and you need to take the times with a grain of salt.

With that said, I hope that Ducati/Suzuki/Aprilia do well this season so that way the grid stays full and we get some close racing like we see in Moto 2 and Moto 3.

BUT...

Personally I think its going to be the Marquez/Rossi/Lorenzo/Pedrosa(until he gets injured) show again this season. The favorites for the championship will be Marquez/Rossi/Lorenzo and maybe Pedrosa in there for a fight but I don't see him ever putting a season together and getting the championship. Nor do I see anyone outside of Repsol Honda or Yamaha winning a championship for a few seasons yet. Honda and Yamaha factory teams are just at a level that is yet to be matched.

In the end this is just my opinion and I could be gravely wrong, but having watched moto gp for the last 6 seasons in there entirety and following the testing its hard to not see Honda or Yamaha coming out with the podiums weekend after weekend. But it sure would be nice to see some new faces on that box.

[gixxer72]

Its a welcome sigh of relief that Ducati have a competitive machine, its great to see so many people at the front looking competitive and that the new guys are fast out of the box.

BUT...

This is testing and not an actual race, its about going out for a few laps at a time testing parts. When they do the race simulations there times go down. Also remember the open class bikes get the super soft tires allotted to them so they will naturally look super competitive in a test and in practice cause they can go out and set a stupid fast lap cause of shear grip. If you read a post on moto matters they have an article as to why testing is just well testing and you need to take the times with a grain of salt.

With that said, I hope that Ducati/Suzuki/Aprilia do well this season so that way the grid stays full and we get some close racing like we see in Moto 2 and Moto 3.

BUT...

Personally I think its going to be the Marquez/Rossi/Lorenzo/Pedrosa(until he gets injured) show again this season. The favorites for the championship will be Marquez/Rossi/Lorenzo and maybe Pedrosa in there for a fight but I don't see him ever putting a season together and getting the championship. Nor do I see anyone outside of Repsol Honda or Yamaha winning a championship for a few seasons yet. Honda and Yamaha factory teams are just at a level that is yet to be matched.

In the end this is just my opinion and I could be gravely wrong, but having watched moto gp for the last 6 seasons in there entirety and following the testing its hard to not see Honda or Yamaha coming out with the podiums weekend after weekend. But it sure would be nice to see some new faces on that box.

FYI Pedrosa has finished ahead of Rossi in the final standings every year but one in the last 5 seasons...

[cdovego]

No facts, just emotion in this thread.

[catahoulabuldog]

No facts, just emotion in this thread.

What would Burgess say?

[cdovego]

What would Burgess say?

Rumor is he's rambling around with Erv Kanemoto out west if you'd like to ask him.

[scottieducati]

Its a welcome sigh of relief that Ducati have a competitive machine, its great to see so many people at the front looking competitive and that the new guys are fast out of the box.

BUT...

This is testing and not an actual race, its about going out for a few laps at a time testing parts. When they do the race simulations there times go down. Also remember the open class bikes get the super soft tires allotted to them so they will naturally look super competitive in a test and in practice cause they can go out and set a stupid fast lap cause of shear grip. If you read a post on moto matters they have an article as to why testing is just well testing and you need to take the times with a grain of salt.

With that said, I hope that Ducati/Suzuki/Aprilia do well this season so that way the grid stays full and we get some close racing like we see in Moto 2 and Moto 3.

BUT...

Personally I think its going to be the Marquez/Rossi/Lorenzo/Pedrosa(until he gets injured) show again this season. The favorites for the championship will be Marquez/Rossi/Lorenzo and maybe Pedrosa in there for a fight but I don't see him ever putting a season together and getting the championship. Nor do I see anyone outside of Repsol Honda or Yamaha winning a championship for a few seasons yet. Honda and Yamaha factory teams are just at a level that is yet to be matched.

In the end this is just my opinion and I could be gravely wrong, but having watched moto gp for the last 6 seasons in there entirety and following the testing its hard to not see Honda or Yamaha coming out with the podiums weekend after weekend. But it sure would be nice to see some new faces on that box.

A few counterpoints: Ducati's GP15 set fast times on a hard tyre. Only Iannone went a (tad) quicker on the soft tire, this is a huge difference from last year. Also, it's not the lap times or how many they do that I really give a shit about right now, it's the rider feedback with both riders instantly saying the GP15 is a game changer and Dovi does NOT want to use the 14.3 ever again. Suzuki has also found a couple seconds between last time they tested and now, so the progress is clear.

Will Honda and Yamaha be the teams to beat? Well that certainly doesn't take much of analysis to know they will be there no matter what. But I would've loved to hear your take on things when Ducati first entered GP and schooled everyone on the grid at how to build a fast race bike. Oh wait, you haven't been watching long enough to remember What we did see last year, was Iannone at the front for more than half of several races, either crashing (due to zero front end feel) or fading (due to soft tires going off). Both of which should improve a ton this year. The Maniac is the only one of the non-aliens to show zero fear of Marquez, and that was on a beast of a POS bike in the GP14.

F*ck it, may as well go whole hog. You heard it here first, Iannone will win before Pedrosa or Lorenzo this year.

[cdovego]

get 'em Scottie

[scottieducati]

PS: as much as I hate the prick, Crutchlow is looking threatening and if he wins early, Bradl is done.

[catahoulabuldog]

GO MANIAC JOE!

[cdovego]

PS: as much as I hate the prick, Crutchlow is looking threatening and if he wins early, Bradl is done.

Crutchlow has something to prove, watch out!

[scottieducati]

What, that he deserves to (again) be a factory rider? Hopefully the factories all remember how awesome he was to Yamaha and Ducati and how deserving he was of all those dollars....

[02redhawk]

Crazy Joe was great to watch in Moto2. If they can find a way to keep 2 wheels under him he should be a frequent threat for podium. As far as a win...that might be a big ask of Ducati this year. Nobody seriously thinks Honda and Yamaha took a vacation since last season.
That said, I'd back Iannone.

[theducman]

GO MANIAC JOE!

I agree, he might be my new favorite rider in gp

[Viper897]

A few counterpoints: Ducati's GP15 set fast times on a hard tyre. Only Iannone went a (tad) quicker on the soft tire, this is a huge difference from last year. Also, it's not the lap times or how many they do that I really give a shit about right now, it's the rider feedback with both riders instantly saying the GP15 is a game changer and Dovi does NOT want to use the 14.3 ever again. Suzuki has also found a couple seconds between last time they tested and now, so the progress is clear.

Will Honda and Yamaha be the teams to beat? Well that certainly doesn't take much of analysis to know they will be there no matter what. But I would've loved to hear your take on things when Ducati first entered GP and schooled everyone on the grid at how to build a fast race bike. Oh wait, you haven't been watching long enough to remember What we did see last year, was Iannone at the front for more than half of several races, either crashing (due to zero front end feel) or fading (due to soft tires going off). Both of which should improve a ton this year. The Maniac is the only one of the non-aliens to show zero fear of Marquez, and that was on a beast of a POS bike in the GP14.

F*ck it, may as well go whole hog. You heard it here first, Iannone will win before Pedrosa or Lorenzo this year.

Although I have not been watching Moto GP long enough to remember when Ducati schooled everyone else, I have done my research on that. Remember the era they were dominating was when Big Tobacco companies where pumping loads of money into the sport so bike development was constantly evolving. Also it would seem as though the engineers at Ducati back during that time span were more open to change and winning ways, and this was also the days of the trellis frame as well.

[scottieducati]

They still are backed by Phillip Morris who have iterated if they don't start winning, the $ will go away.