Moto GP to come to America in 2005!

[fpv_gtho]

well when they see all the sand around them when they get to Phillip Island, they'll glad to see its only the beach

[Matra et Alpine]

Also, typical way motorsport is going with new circuits, that Quatar circuit had had NO other racing on it before the MotoGP arrival.

The idiot in the organisation that agreed to that should be made to go out on a bike on the track and learn what it's like to fall off at 100mph !!!
Criminal negligence - thankfully nobody was badly hurt, though Rossi's championship lead took a severe knock !!

[fpv_gtho]

Well its not so bad Matra, Rossi's still got 14 points in his lead, and i believe that 1st gets 25 points and 2nd gets 20, so it could really be a lifesaver at the end of the championship. If Sete (i think thats how its spelt) even manages to get 1st in the next 3 to Rossi getting 2nd, that'll only be 1 point in the end....I think its all unbelievable though considering at the start of the season after the initial testing, Rossi claimed that it was next to impossible for him to claim the title this year....

Bill Woods and Darryl Beattie at CH10 here were suggesting that the ripple strips were a bit too short coming out of the corners for an optimum racing line, causing Rossi's crash so i'd be interested to see if its an opinion shared by others...

[Matra et Alpine]

Well its not so bad Matra, Rossi's still got 14 points in his lead, and i believe that 1st gets 25 points and 2nd gets 20, so it could really be a lifesaver at the end of the championship. If Sete (i think thats how its spelt) even manages to get 1st in the next 3 to Rossi getting 2nd, that'll only be 1 point in the end....I think its all unbelievable though considering at the start of the season after the initial testing, Rossi claimed that it was next to impossible for him to claim the title this year....

Rossi is another level above everyone else on 2 wheels. a god
I tihnk his early 'down' on the teams chances were to get them motivated to accept the changes he was suggesting to the bike geometry. He's been proven right as he took a bike that didn't handle and made it a beater within 2 races !!

Bill Woods and Darryl Beattie at CH10 here were suggesting that the ripple strips were a bit too short coming out of the corners for an optimum racing line, causing Rossi's crash so i'd be interested to see if its an opinion shared by others...

Yeah, but to be fair, it's up to a rider to know the size of a rumble strip and ride accordingly.
mate and I reckoned the issue is the artifical grass pinned down to sand. So when off the track you're trying to ride on plastic with sand sprinkled on it. Rossi got his wheel on it on throttle and it spun up and spat him. If you saw other riders go onto the 'grass' you coudl see the sand dust kicked up by the rear wheel. Not smart ( though better than typical British wet grass )

[fpv_gtho]

I managed to catch some of the live coverage around 3am last night, and they were making comments of another rider trying to keep it together with the rear wheel spinning on the grass, so it seems luck struck out on Rossi, especially after the start he was given.

[Matra et Alpine]

I managed to catch some of the live coverage around 3am last night, and they were making comments of another rider trying to keep it together with the rear wheel spinning on the grass, so it seems luck struck out on Rossi, especially after the start he was given.

Rossi was 'unlucky' cos he was spinning it up out of the corner.
The others that went off were able to get the bikes upright and feet out so managed it fine. Except for the fine dust covering the sticky rubber
It coudl have been a great race if they'd had a few car races to lay some rubber on the green track.

Glad to see Edwards doing better ( and typical just at contract time !! ).

[fpv_gtho]

From what i saw, there was a clear line forming around the track from an overhead view, but i dare say that was all too late....

My older brother though a while ago was saying he was glad when Phillip Island was taken off the V8 Supercar calender for this year, as he thought they were ruining the track or something....I havent heard anything else saying that though. Theyve redone the pit exit there and theres a bit of a debate as to whether its any safer or more dangerous..

[Matra et Alpine]

From what i saw, there was a clear line forming around the track from an overhead view, but i dare say that was all too late....

Yep, you coudl certainly see the stripe. The UK commentary team pointed out that the 'challenge' for the riders was to keep within that 6 foot wide stripe at 100+mph !! Put the skill into context

My older brother though a while ago was saying he was glad when Phillip Island was taken off the V8 Supercar calender for this year, as he thought they were ruining the track or something....I havent heard anything else saying that though. Theyve redone the pit exit there and theres a bit of a debate as to whether its any safer or more dangerous..

Not heard about cars runing tracks, unless it's to do with run-offs and safety and the stupid things they do for cars that make it worse for bikes - remember the catch-fences of 15 years ago ???
I do know that the bike racers in Eureop hated to go to any track where truck racing was held as the trucks pulled the tarmac under braking and put ripples in the tracks - right where the bikes want to brake.

Maybe the V8 cars are heavy enough with wnough rubber to do the same ??

[fpv_gtho]

Well theyre 1350kg with 12 inch slicks, so i wouldnt really know if that enough, but the safety at Phillip Island has been a big talking issue lately, it was the reason it was taken off this years V8 Supercar calender, and its only back on for next year because Lindsey Fox has some company that now owns the track and they've promised AVESCO they'll fix the track up to the V8's standards