World SBK | ROUND 11 | Pirelli Portuguese Round | 29 SEP - 01 OCT

Yeah Gerloff said he likes Jerez, but then he said so does everyone else, we've all done a lot of laps there so...

 

Post race, Alvaro talked about how much fun it was. Toprak just kept saying Bautista was weak and he was not happy with 2nd. Well, sir, he beat you. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but the Turkish racers just seem like assholes.

 

top independent gerloff in 4th... i'll take that

 

Exciting races today... gotta be so demoralizing the way Bautista can just wick the throttle open and zip past you seemingly at will.

I really believe he's not opening that thing up 100% all the time to avoid any further rev penalties.

 

There were five different manufacturers in the top 10 today, with Ducatis dispersed evenly throughout the field. It's not the bike. It's the combination of bike and rider.

 

i know you watch motoGP as well. is it ONLY the bike ? no. but come on.

 

This.

Yamaha and Honda only showed up decently in the results on a completely new track that no one had data on, and in the rain.

 

Good work Garret!! keep it going!!!

 

GG31 is nothing if not a confidence rider huh? Crazy swings in results based almost entirely on how he feels between the ears vs what he has under his butt.

Great couple rounds for him and as mentioned - I'd love to see him finish strong, get up into the Top 10 overall, and hit the offseason with that newfound confidence intact.

 

That’s because the majority of the field are on Ducatis. And they happen to be the best.

why aren’t all the other Ducs in WSBK winning races?

because it’s the bike and rider, not just the bike.

 

We’ll see how Bassani does on a Kawi relative to Duc. We know the relative performances of Bautista on the Duc, then Honda, then back to Duc.

 

Can’t wait to watch the other Lowes disintegrate that VDS Duc in glorious fashion. Who’s starting the Lowes Bros. crash thread.

 

but tell me with a straight face, the duc isn't making a HUGE difference. I don't care which riders you compare .. wsbk, motogp, the ducs have a major advantage.

 

I dont think the Duc itself is making a huge difference. I think Bautista is better a putting the power to the ground earlier coming off the corners. I dont think the Yamaha has a braking advantage either, I think Toprak is better at braking. Both guys have the skills they are better at and they use them the best they can including how they set up their bikes. Look at the top speeds of all the Ducs vs Toprak. Granted he was drafting the Duc down the straight in the race but did he draft them during qualifying? Them having their strong points in the different areas of the track made for a very exciting race and I think most of you just hate Bautista

 

Well all I know is that one of the 2 has a crash count thread that mysteriously hasn’t been updated in a while. I guess AB just magically became crash resistant oooor maybe he doesn’t have to ride the bike hard to get a result.

 

Or he learned that bike better and figured out it's safer to go fast on the rear than on the front. If the BIKE is that much better why are the Ducs not killing everybody not on one. Toprak even said in his interview he can't understand how Bautista can come off the last corner with that much drive. I guess that team has figured out how to get the most out of the rear grip and longevity of the rear tire.

 

I thought the race was fantastic. The duc stretched its legs in the first and last sector and the Yamaha at two and three. The yo-yo race that created was awesome. GG kicked butt this weekend. Loved seeing him go forward and VDM go backwards. If he keeps it up, he may be Topraks teammate in 25.

 

Ah so you’re the track day guy with the 1000 that blows by an SV650 on the straights then holds him up through the rest of the track and then thinks you’re the faster/better rider.

What I’m confident of is that TR is the better rider and if not for the Ducs strengths over the Yamaha. He’d be winning another championship. Hell. I’m not so sure JR wouldn’t be winning on the Duc

 

So what's the minimum Bautista has to do next race to clinch?

 

Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah... Negative ghost rider. I race a 2015 Yamaha FZ-07.

Im not saying that Toprak isnt an amazing rider at all. I think he is unreal on the bike but I also think Bautista is too. Its superbike racing and kinda the point is to build the best bike possible and put riders on them that are able to use its strengths to their advantage. We dont bitch about Toprak being a better braker than everyone else and want to handycap his bike to make it more even. He sets his bike up for his riding style because thats his advantage over everyone else and its spectacular to watch for sure. The 2 different styles made it possible to have one of the best races ever in WSBK with 35 passes for the lead without either of them banging into each other or taking the other out. Thats everything I like to see in a race. Close very hard fought battles for the lead. Im entertained for sure!!