NGC-Ducati GP15

[redrider]

Ducati tops the time sheets at Qatar! Going to be a bar fight this year. Woohoo!!!

[tonUPRacer]

will be fun to watch

[mtiberio]

one hot lap does not mean competitive over race distance, but it is encouraging fo them...

plus they will be able to use the softer tire afforded them in qualifying, so they should start up front...

[Arizona Wayne]

Ducati tops the time sheets at Qatar! Going to be a bar fight this year. Woohoo!!!

YES, I want to see Marquez get his wings clipped.  :pop

[Aaron D.]

Marc my words, it will be different when the race comes around. Though I hope Ducati can pull something off.

Looks like they changed the engine a bit, eh?

[oldbike54]

Marc my words, it will be different when the race comes around. Though I hope Ducati can pull something off.

Looks like they changed the engine a bit, eh?

 Yeah , are there any race distance times . Ducati has topped early test times before , didn't translate into race wins . moto gp is all about how fast one can go on lap 20 . Not sure I understand the dislike of Marquez , seems like a decent young man , and he likes American dirt track . Not saying it wouldn't be fun to have different race winners , unfortunately , no one has shown they can beat Marc consistently .

  Dusty

[Arizona Wayne]

Yeah , are there any race distance times . Ducati has topped early test times before , didn't translate into race wins . moto gp is all about how fast one can go on lap 20 . Not sure I understand the dislike of Marquez , seems like a decent young man , and he likes American dirt track . Not saying it wouldn't be fun to have different race winners , unfortunately , no one has shown they can beat Marc consistently .

  Dusty

Only rider I want to see dominate is an American 1.  The rest of them can beat up on each other.  :P

[redrider]

Marc seems a nice sort. The kicker is the adaptability of the human to master the technology. Name any of the past champions who did not. Makes me contemplate the day when I can no longer experience the evolution of Man.

[oldbike54]

Only rider I want to see dominate is an American 1.  The rest of them can beat up on each other.  :P

 Are there any Americans left in moto gp ?

  Dusty

 

[Aaron D.]

Gonna revoke your race watching license for that one.

Name the last US World Champion.

[oldbike54]

Gonna revoke your race watching license for that one.

Name the last US World Champion.

 Nikki . Hey , would love to see a great American racer in moto gp ala Schwantz , Rainey , Lawson , Roberts . We simply don't have a good development series like Spain does . A very small percentage of Americans have a clue
who Nikki Hayden is , but in Europe and even South America he is a household name . Several years ago at the
Dallas SX , Schwantz was a guest of honor , introduced during intermission . Maybe three of us applauded , the middle aged guy next to me asked me who Schwantz was . Kevin still gets mobbed in Europe . Just how it is .

  Dusty

[Arizona Wayne]

Are there any Americans left in moto gp ?

  Dusty

 

Ben Spies was an up & comer...........but then his shoulder got wacked 1 too many times..........  :'(    Now we only have Nicky to root for and he's not on a 1st rate bike any more.  Politics has a lot to do with who get's to ride which bike.  Note most the top riders are Italian or Spanish.   Those countries are far more into this kind of racing than USA fans.

[oldbike54]

Ben Spies was an up & comer...........but then his shoulder got wacked 1 too many times..........  :'(    Now we only have Nicky to root for and he's not on a 1st rate bike any more.

 Yeah , and while both of those examples are unfortunate , the factories unwillingness to properly support both of those guys kind of reinforces my belief that the factories understand that winning gp races doen't sell bikes in America. Nicky was treated like a support rider by Honda , even while winning a world title . Yamaha simply quit on Spies after his move to gp from superbike , that after winning an SBK title in his first year in Europe . Colin Edwards won two SBK titles for Honda , the second one against a resurgent Troy Baylissafter on a Ducati , and won it after spotting Bayliss a bunch of points . What did Honda do , let him go to Yamaha's gp team . I once heard an English friend respond in disbelief when a fellow motorcycle rider had no clue who Mick Doohan was . In America racers are sorta famous , in Europe they are gods .

  Dusty

[arveno]

Ducati competitive ? ah ah !! ah ah !! ah ah !! yeahhh it will be when Honda and Yamaha will quit racing .....

[youcanrunnaked]

Last Season, Ducati spent quite a few early laps at the front, only to fade as the races progressed.  A few hot laps does not a race pace make.  Testing shows them to be faster than last year; whether that also means more competitive than last year remains to be seen.

To me, the pleasant surprise is Suzuki.  They are posting good times for a maiden effort.  The disappointing team is Aprilia; they are running the slowest times.

[Arizona Wayne]

Last Season, Ducati spent quite a few early laps at the front, only to fade as the races progressed.  A few hot laps does not a race pace make.  Testing shows them to be faster than last year; whether that also means more competitive than last year remains to be seen.

To me, the pleasant surprise is Suzuki.  They are posting good times for a maiden effort.  The disappointing team is Aprilia; they are running the slowest times.

Aprilia came back to MotoGP a year earlier than they planned and this year is for learning what to do for next year, kind of like what Ducati did last year.   ;)

[drums4money]

Ducati tops the time sheets at Qatar! Going to be a bar fight this year. Woohoo!!!

250hp
350 #

Awesome

[Aaron D.]

Awesome but nearly 100 lbs over the old two strokes back in the days.

[oldbike54]

Awesome but nearly 100 lbs over the old two strokes back in the days.

 True , but twice the displacement , and 100 hp more than the best 500 CC two smokers . Most carry ballast to make the 160 kg minimum .

  Dusty

[Aaron D.]

Last KR was at 190 hp...

[oldbike54]

Last KR was at 190 hp...

 Yeah , and almost impossible to ride . The new 4 strokes are capable of probably 320 HP , but the torque spikes would look like the Alps  :D I do have to admit watching the old 500s leave 150 ft long black streaks on corner exit was incredible , but to a man , the riders that have ridden the old 2 smokers and the suck squeeze bang blow engines prefer the latter .

  Dusty

[youcanrunnaked]

^^^  Not to mention that 2-strokes are irrelevant to today's motorcycle industry.  It might be nice to reminisce about the 2-stroke era, but lamenting current MotoGP tech is sort of like when your great-grandfather pined for those bygone days of racing motorized bicycles on board tracks.