World SBK | ROUND 01 | Yamaha Finance Australian Round | 28 FEB - 01 MAR

I know y'all like Chaz but what's going on w that dude?

ETA; soon as I typed that they explained the bike lost it's wings which renders it unrideable.

 

He must lose his wings .... like all the time


If he doesn’t bring the heat this year I’d think he’s looking for a new ride .

 

Did they ever find them?

 

They must be hiding with the missing straight line speed Ducati had last year.

 

Freight train!

 

Good thing Baz can handle a little off-road.

 

Another good race.

 

Figured it was the tires jamming up Redding.

Man, I hope nobody in MotoGP gives him a job.

 

With Lowes and honda showing good top end, does Ducati get their revs back?

 

Since we're back... bummed about Gerloff, but wishing a speedy recovery. He looked awesome though and his lap times are right there with the front runners, and still learning a lot. Other than his finishing position due to tires, he's been faster than his teammate who knows all these tracks, so that's good.

 

Perhaps the Ducati engine isn't as fast as everyone thinks if it needs all those revs compared to the Aprilia V4 that was close to initially 1,400 less and was still faster down the straights.
Ducati: 16.1k
Aprilia: 14.7k

 

Not necessarily. To make more power with the same displacement, you spin it higher. Technology is always going to push the rev limits up, but if you cap them artificially (via rules), then you are forcing the engine to run outside where it was designed.

 

You're forgetting aerodynamics. The aprilia was designed specifically as a tiny package that someone like Biaggi could be on and be a missile. He alone always held the records in the speed traps. Redding and Davies are both abnormally large/tall for motorcycle racers. Bautista was quite the opposite, and at 160-190mph, that makes a big difference. Also, speed off the corner hugely dictates the trap speed at the end of the straight. If Redding was struggling with rear grip, top speed won't be nearly as fast as if he was slingshotting his way off of the final corner.

All that being said, the other teams have made improvements, and Honda specifically designed an engine around the WSBK rules and have smaller riders. So they also will be quick on the fast bits provided they can get off the corners well. Should make for good racing.

 

This opening weekend was total BS. Everyone riding around in a scrum doing SuperSport laptimes saving tires till 2 laps to go. GG dropped 3.5-4 seconds a lap after using up his tires. This isn't racing. Cmon Pirelli, make a decent tire!

 

Or maybe it made for closer action even if not everyone was running 1:29s. If perhaps a tire could easily last the entire race without dropping off, you'd probably see one guy ride away into the sunset by .6 per lap and it'd be a snooze fest. I see the current situation as the lesser of two evils.

 

I think part of Garrett's problem is a couple fold: 1) new to the Pirelli 2) new to a team and they're figuring each other out still. Tire wear is an electronics / chassis set up issue 3) Garrett just not knowing what Phillip Island will do in race conditions. His teammate at least knows the track and has a better understanding of Pirelli's. I think we would have seen a leap forward on Race 2 in finishing position if he hadn't been taken out in the Warm Up. Regardless, he's showing the speed. Everything else can be worked out.

 

Yes, you're right. Pirelli made a tire to prevent Rea from running away from the field.

 

First race and superpole race I thought were good. Second race definitely had that "save the tire" feel.

 

It's a little early for the Ducatestes to start crying.

Once Redding figures out these tires which he has never raced on before Philip Island it will be a different story. Plus Bautista is a midget and Redding is closer to normal size.The bike is still the fastest on the grid.

 

Fastest on the grid? I’m not sure about that with the revs where they are. Even in the draft, he couldn’t pass the Kawis or the Yamahas. He said as much in the post race interview. AB and Lowe’s has the fast trap speed all weekend around 323kph. Redding’s high was 310/314, something like that.

 

Too bad he's not sponsored by Red Bull ehh?.......