ROUND 01|Yamaha Finance Australian Round|22 - 24 FEB

I agree it was definitely different but in a good way.

 

If you were talking about the WSSP race I agree. I understand the safety concerns about the tires and the need for a mandatory pit stop (MotoGP has done this before) but for riders to be penalized for getting out of the pits TOO QUICK after a pit stop is an absolute joke.

Obviously there were no quick change setups on the bikes because those pit stops took longer than a pit stop during a WERA endurance race.

 

The WSS bikes do have "quick change" stuff, but it's not superbike so the set ups have to be within the SS rules. For most teams that means captive spacers, springs or magnets in the calipers, cones on stock axles, captive nuts, fenders mounted on one side only, etc. Nothing too fancy, which is exactly why there is a minimum pit time; so teams with bigger budgets don't gain an advantage through faster pit stops as it's not supposed to be endurance racing.

 

I like the min in pit time, it makes sense in this situation that’s not a planned event as part of the series.

 

Don't forget, the MV is using a single side swinger. Definitely an advantage. Still, was a bit of a shitshow.. I enjoyed the 10 lapper, but the one bike rule gives me pause in this format. You're supposed to go balls out for 10 laps and in that situation, shit can happen. One little ooopsie and you're screwed out of the next race.

 

I like the 10 lapped for sure and agree about the 1 bike rule. It’s still points on the table but you have to keep your head straight. Makes it interesting. My initial impressions are this is much better for the fans and the racing was good this weekend. Even though Bautista was long gone the battle for 2nd and back was good and they did a good job with coverage.

 

I don't understand why they're only giving points in the shortened race down to ninth ? Basicly making it a 2 tier class because if you're not consistently in the top nine you have no hope as far as points.

 

It’s all less points, I’m not sure how else they could do it based on the 25 points for a feature race win.

 

It's not a featured race. It's a replacement for Superpole on Sunday. I didn't really understand it until today. The problem is that starting position doesn't matter, as we well know, so if there are no points, they have no incentive to race hard. It would just be a 10-lap cruise. But they can also not give out a full allotment of points, which would make it a feature race.

What I wonder is how they're going to treat those in the stats. I don't think they should count as a race wins in the records book. I'd rather they be counted as pole positions, if they must be counted at all. Just my opinion.

Is this the biggest superbike thread in a couple of years (or more)? Alvaro certainly breathed some life back into the series.

 

Way back in the middle ages here in the US the AMA and Camel used to put on a mini sprint race. I don't remember it paying points or having any bearing on the end of year results but it paid a pretty good amount of cash. I remember it being $10,000 for the win.

 

So with world superbike rules being what they are, how many races does Batista have to win before the Ducati gets rained in?

Because if you're going off the total performance of the manufacturer, and the other Ducati boys keep sandbagging, you might have a situation where a manufacturer is gaming the rules.

 

Now Rea is bitching about Ducati building a bike based off their MotoGP bike. Come on, the amount of money Honda and Yamaha make and he is bitching because their bikes got smoked by a small italian motorcycle manufacturer who doesn't make money off of cars, lawn mowers and bike sales? GTFOH...... https://www.bikesportnews.com/news/...HwcKHY1KnqNDQ63hgOZ-fha-WEqgaNjbxd9WL5IzR_2us

 

That makes sense. Thank you for the explanation. I'm just used to endurance racing where multiple classes are on the track at the same time. Since it's a single class and a very rare occasion when WSSP has to do pit stops they don't want one team to have an unfair advantage over others during a mandatory pit stop.

 

Didn't Rea admit in the post race interview after the first race to riding at less than 100% due to his tire failure and crash at Phillip Island last year?

 

That 60% comment is gonna bite him in the a$$

 

My thing is, stop crying. He dominated the WSBK for the last 3/4 years. Ducati, smartly, streamlined their business and blended their MotoGP and WSBK efforts so that the money they dump into one helps the other. Rea should have moved to Ducati.

 

They need to post the full sprint race video from the onboard cameras of Rea and Bautista, that shit would look epic

 

I agree. He needs to quit his bitching and ride at 100%. Obviously Bautista did.

 

Crying after the first round by the guy who basically ruined WSBK by winning every time is pretty lame. There was some great racing and that 10 lap Sprint was some of the best racing in a while. Hopefully this is the start of WSBK coming back.

 

Sour grapes on Rea's part.....and so quickly too. Literally right after he gets his clock cleaned he turns into the Max Biaggi of old.

I wonder if Davies, Rinaldi and Laverty all share his opinion of the omnipotent Ducati juggernaut, because their results certainly didn't reflect it. Could it simply be that Bowling Bau is a better rider? Remember a couple years back after Rossi broke his leg. Comes back to test on a bike he doesn't even ride and turns a best lap just a second over the Superpole time at Brno? http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/2010/07/article/valentino-rossi-completes-brno-testing/