VETTEL: THEY ASK FOR CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM AND WE SELL THEM VANILLA

Formula 1 bosses would get it wrong even if they were selling ice cream and everybody wanted one flavour, Sebastian Vettel said on Thursday as the sport’s qualifying format drew further criticism.

The Ferrari driver told reporters at the Bahrain Grand Prix he was “as disappointed as probably anyone I know” the new system was not changed after failing on its debut in Australia on March 20.

“Put it this way, if you sell vanilla ice cream but everybody who comes to your shop is asking for chocolate ice cream,” explained four-times world champion Vettel.

“The next day you open you expect to sell chocolate ice cream but instead you just sell vanilla again.

“Usually you do what your clients would like you to do but you are not really doing the job if you do the exact opposite. It’s something we can’t be proud of,” added the German.

Team bosses and commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone agreed after qualifying in Melbourne the elimination format had not worked and needed to be changed before Bahrain.



Instead of an exciting battle for pole position in the third and final phase, there were no cars on the track in the closing minutes in Australia as drivers sat in their garages and watched the clock tick down.

Drivers and others called for qualifying to revert entirely to the 2015 format, or for the third and final phase to be held according to the old rules.

A subsequent vote failed to secure the required unanimity, however, and the format was kept intact with a promise it would be reviewed after this weekend’s race.

The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) wrote to Ecclestone and Jean Todt, president of the governing FIA, after Melbourne to call for a change in the decision-making processes and governance.

“We made it clear there’s something that’s not right and something has to change,” said Vettel, one of the GPDA directors, with drivers expressing fears that fans would be turned off.

VANDOORNE TO MAKE F1 DEBUT IN BAHRAIN

What is Fernando Alonso’s misfortune has turned into a big opportunity for McLaren reserve Stoffel Vandoorne who will substitute for the Spaniard at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.

With Alonso failing a FIA medical test in the aftermath of his death defying accident at the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago, McLaren are forced to field their reserve for Round 2 of the F1 world championship.

McLaren said in a statement: “Following a decision by the FIA doctors, Fernando Alonso will not be participating in this weekend’s 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix. Following any on-track incident, we will always abide by the FIA doctors’ decisions.”

“As usual, McLaren Honda reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne will be on hand on Friday morning and will make his Formula 1 debut in place of Fernando,” concluded the statement.

Tech Highlights: Mercedes S-duct

One of the key design features of this year’s Mercedes W07 is the introduction of an S-duct. The S-duct was first seen in 2012, with Sauber using it as a way to manage airflow over the stepped nose. The idea was that airflow would be less likely to detach from the chassis if air was introduced behind the step. This was done by channeling airflow from underneath the car to a vent exiting backwards above the front bulkhead via an s-shaped duct in the nosebox, hence the term S-duct.

Although it is not a game-changing device on its own, it offers a way of linking multiple aerostructures together to make the car work cohesively around the front end. The steep inclination of the nose and the short, flat top section of the chassis means that, particularly in yaw, airflow can wander around a lot. The S-duct aims to control this airflow by keeping it attached to the car’s surface, which can be further exploited by the turning vanes and sidepods as it passes downstream.




Mercedes used this fairing in Brazil last year to mimic the effects of an S-duct without air flowing through it, i.e. testing the shape of the duct in otherwise normal conditionsThe idea of Mercedes running an S-duct in 2016 was first mooted in Brazil last year, where the team ran the above fairing in place of the conventional cover over the internal suspension components. The vent – which was not connected to an inlet – was wrapped over a horizontal bulge that was needed to clear the larger hydraulic heave element that was also tested at the time, something that was also carried over into 2016.



This design clearly had its drawbacks, the bulge in particular was neither pretty or efficient. As a result the W07 has lower connecting points for the pushrod arms and rockers, sinking the heave spring into the chassis and therefore making the bulge redundant. Furthermore, this has allowed the engineers to further integrate the duct into the rest of the car without compromising airflow passing over it.



Now we can clearly see the efforts Mercedes have gone to in packaging the S-duct within the tight confines of the nosebox and front bulkhead. Unlike any other S-duct in the pitlane the Mercedes vent exits much further behind the nose – the most common design features a single exit slot where the nose meets the chassis.

The W07’s plumbing also differs from the competition in that the inlet for the duct is much further forward. The inlet’s shape is such that it evades the single cross section rule, just like Force India’s ‘nostrils’ nose, in that no matter which way you cut it there does not appear to be a ‘hole’ in the Mercedes nose.



The positioning of the inlet and outlet creates an elongated ‘s’ to the duct rather than the traditionally tight plumbing. Images from the Australian GP reveal that the inlet is split, navigating airflow up two channels to a pair of nostrils bored into the front bulkhead before exiting over the chassis top behind. It is unclear whether the nostrils feed into a single, slender exit or if the division remains – above I have drawn it as two separate exits.

McLaren also have two exit vents instead of a sole large vent, so perhaps keeping the volume of airflow lower has its benefits. This may well be to do with the speed at which the air exits the duct and how that influences the airflow around it.




Above highlights how air enters and exits the duct and then over the carThe Mercedes version has a few apparent advantages over its rivals. The gradual way in which air is passed up to the top side of the car must help keep the airflow stable and less turbulent. This will also benefit the speed at which air exits over the car, which will increase the chance of potentially wandering airflow to cling to the car.



So, just like the complex bargeboards, Mercedes appear to again be a step ahead of everyone else when it comes to both the power unit and chassis design.

How quick would F1 lap at Le Mans?

Posted on | 14th June 2008  Author Keith Collantine




The Le Mans 24 Hours is underway at the 13.6km (8.4m) Circuit de la Sarthe. It’s an unusual track, dominated by the huge Mulsanne straight, and then looping back to the start/finish straight via a succession of straights and high-speed corners.

In terms of size it has no equal in Formula 1 – the next longest track (Spa-Francorchamps) is similar in character but half the length (7km).

Formula has never raced on the circuit and probably could now with latest engine regulations. So how long would an F1 car take to lap it? Could it do a sub-three minute time? Let’s make an educated guess…

In 2008, the leading cars in the Le Mans 24 Hours this year are Audi’s R10 and Peugeot’s 908. Both race in the Europe-wide Le Mans series and this year have already raced on three circuits that are on the F1 calendar.

By comparing their pole position times with the best times seen in F1 qualifying (which usually occur in Q2 when the cars use low fuel) we can get an idea of the approximate difference in performance between F1 and LMS cars:

Circuit                                      Formula 1                Le Mans Series         Difference
Spa-Francorchamps                 1’45.070 (’07)         1’58.069 (’08)          +12.37%
Monza                                      1’21.356 (’07)         1’31.875 (’08)          +12.43%
Circuit de Catalunya                1’20.584 (’08)         1’31.875 (’08)          +14.01%
Le Mans                                   ?                               3’18.513 (’08)          ?


Comparing the 2008 LMS qualifying times with the 2007 F1 LMS times at Spa and Monza we get a very similar percentage difference in performance: the LMS cars are 12.4% slower, give or take 0.03%

Spa and Monza are also two of the fastest circuits on the Formula 1 calendar and are probably a better guide of lap times at the Circuit de la Sarthe than the Circuit de Catalunya, where the ratio of corners to straights is higher.

The LMS pole time at Catalunya in 2008 was a fraction over 14% slower than the best time in F1 qualifying.

Stephane Sarrazin’s pole position time for Peugeot at Le Mans in 2008 was a 3’18.513. Based on the difference between the F1 and LMS times at Catalunya in 2008, the projected fastest lap time by an F1 car would be 2’54.118.

However I think the gap between F1 and LMS cars would be wider at Catalunya than at Spa, Monza and the Circuit de la Sarthe. But even using the conservative difference of 12.4%, the F1 car would still be comfortably under the three minute mark.

Of course, this is an entirely hypothetical and crude mathematical assessment. Many things could influence differences in the time: track conditions, weather conditions and so on.

The only way to find out for sure would be for someone to take a modern F1 car out there. Unfortunately Formula 1 has only ever raced the short and unloved Bugatti circuit at Le Mans in 1967.

FORMULA 1 2016: ALL THE DRIVERS’ HELMETS

All the drivers’ helmets for the 2016 Formula 1 world championship season. Drivers will war the same helmet design throughout the season. Click on thumbnail to enlarge

DOES FORMULA 1 NEED TO BE RUN LIKE A DICTATORSHIP?

Does Formula 1 need te be run like a dictatorship?

• Yes (77%, 75 Votes)

• No (23%, 22 Votes)

Jean Alesi says the latest events surrounding the Formula 1 ‘show’ is proof for him that the sport needs a dictatorship.

The former Ferrari driver spoke to the French broadcaster Canal Plus about F1’s u-turn over the new ‘musical chairs’ qualifying format, which will be scrapped after just a single race in Australia.

“Personally, I liked qualifying” in Melbourne, the 51-year-old said. “Perhaps it is necessary to change the third part (Q3) of the session, but to fully restore the old format, in my opinion, is ridiculous.”

He said the team bosses voting unanimously to scrap ‘musical chairs’ qualifying and revert to the 2015 format is proof of who should really be running F1.

“I’m a big fan of Bernie Ecclestone, but I like Jean Todt even more,” said Alesi. “They are trying to find ways to ensure that the interest in the sport is high, but they also need to take into account the positions of the team bosses.”



“It seems to me that these people (the team bosses) are harmful to formula one,” he explained. “Unfortunately, in this sport you need a dictatorship. It is something that worked in the past but not anymore.”

“Why? Because everyone has the right to express their opinion now and yet all they really care about is their own interests.”

Alesi said F1 fans can at least look forward to a competitive world championship in 2016, after Sebastian Vettel came close to beating the normally-dominant Mercedes cars in Australia.

“They (Ferrari) have a fast car,” he said. “Once in the lead, Sebastian held his position without any problems and only lost the victory due to a strategy error. I think it means we will have an exciting season”

ALONSO WOULD NOT HAVE SURVIVED 20 YEARS AGO

A crash like the one suffered by Fernando Alonso in the Australian Grand Prix would have been fatal in a previous era, former FIA president Max Mosley told reporters.

Alonso’s McLaren was sent into a terrifying barrel roll after he clipped Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas at close to 200mph, but the two-time champion crawled from the wreckage before walking away.

Since Ayrton Senna’s death at Imola in 1994 prompted tightened security measures, Frenchman Jules Bianchi, who died at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, is the only F1 driver to have lost his life in a race.

Asked if Alonso would have survived a similar accident 20 years ago, Mosley told British newspapers: “I don’t think he would have.

“You wouldn’t know for sure without a detailed analysis, but generally speaking those sorts of accidents resulted in serious injury or death.

“Happily that seems to have stopped. There are still freak accidents, like Jules, but those sort of serious racing accidents, you do expect the driver to walk away. That wouldn’t have been the case 20 years ago.



“This was thanks to (former FIA chief medical officer) Sid Watkins and a team of really competent people and the teams themselves.

“It needed to be looked at scientifically and that was the big change after Ayrton Senna’s death at Imola in 1994.

“It’s very satisfying to see Alonso walk away. You work hard and it’s very satisfying when you see the results. It was quite an impressive crash.”

Mosley’s reign as FIA (International Federation of Automobiles) chief between 1993 and 2009 coincided with a big safety push that continues today, with the planned introduction of the Halo device to protect drivers’ heads.

Why You Have To Start Watching MotoGP

Do you watch MotoGP, the world’s top form of motorcycle racing? If the answer’s no, let me tell you why this coming season will be the best one to start on in many years. All it took was a few rule changes that should make the sport more open and more exciting than it’s been in a while, and since it already kicked ass, that’s saying something.


There are a few major changes headed for the premier class of motorcycle racing next season, and the teams have recently completed testing following the season-ender in Valencia, Spain so now they can finally begin to acclimate to their new regs.

Here are the major changes and a bunch of thoughts, not so briefly.

A Catchall Section For The TL;DR Crowd
No more two-caste system, the lowly Open Class is gone.
There are still some concessions made for “underperforming and/or new factories.”
Michelin takes over as sole tire supplier.
There are “unified electronics,” and everyone is using the same thing, more or less.

These changes will make the entire field far more level, and will remove some of the advantages that have kept the top players on top for so long (no one but Yamaha and Honda have won a race since 2010) while helping teams who aren’t as competitive.

Michelin, the new tire supplier, makes a tire that performs drastically different to the ones they’re used to riding and the new electronics are a huge step back for some and forward for others. This blows the field wide open, mostly in favor of a lot of young talent who’ve been waiting for a shot at the top riders.

Okay, so what does this all mean if you aren’t into MotoGP, but are curious, or perhaps stumbled onto a race after growing weary of the lesser sports, like golf?

Well, imagine if a bunch of NBA teams in the East suddenly got competitive and the Cavs/Bulls/Heat/Celtics couldn’t waltz their way into the playoffs. Now imagine that happened all on the heels of the best and most dramatic season in the past decade.

That’s right. Shit just got real.


For Those Of You Who Can Be Bothered To Read

You can read the full list of changes the FIM site here, or this very dry outline of the changes, but here’s the gist of it.

The first two changes are easy to explain. Put simply, there is no more Open Class, though some concessions do remain. The factory Honda, Yamaha and Ducati teams will have 22 liters of fuel, spec electronics, seven engines per season and limited testing, with engine development halting after the pre-season tests.

Teams who haven’t won a race or gotten a few podiums in the last few years—not Honda and Yamaha, basically—will have unlimited testing and 12 engines per season. They are also allowed to change the design of those engines as they see fit to search for their missing performance or reliability. Fuel and electronics are the same as the other factory bikes.

Ducati, who ran in the Open class last year, have been bumped back up to full Capital F - factory status. Why, though? They haven’t won since 2010, and only recently started getting podium finishes again.

Ducati made the decision to run in the Open Class in 2015 so that they could have unlimited testing and unfrozen engine development (along with more fuel allotted for the race) with their new bike. They wanted no part of the Honda/Yamaha bickering over 20 liter of fuel versus 22 liters and also knew that the 2016 regulations were much closer to what was the 2015 Open Class, so they sacrificed the year to have more freedom developing the new bike. Easy choice.



The next two changes are big enough to warrant their own sections.
All Tires Were Not Created Equal

With the change in tire suppliers comes a change in engineering. The factories unanimously wanted 17 inch tires, the de-facto standard on their production road bikes. This, they say, will help them trickle down technology and justify MotoGP racing programs to their respective suits and muckety-mucks.

Dubious? Well, if the new Yamaha R1 is any indication of the future for production superbikes, they have a very valid point. Maybe this racing business isn’t just pissing away stacks of energy drinks money after all.



“There go the insane lean angles,” the skeptical fan might think. Not so, the aspect ratio is set to remain the same as the 16.5 inch tires. That means the inner diameter will increase by .5 inches, but so will the outer diameter, maintaining that ever-important sidewall.

This will make the tires slightly taller, but the effect of this will be taken into account with the bike design for 2016, so really that’s quite minor.



Michelin isn’t new to the sport, though its past has been somewhat checkered. Known for its “overnight specials,” the French company would make changes to their compounds or molds to suit predicted weather and track conditions and ship them to the tracks “overnight” for their riders on Sunday morning. Its competitor Bridgestone—a Japanese company—was literally just too far across the globe to viably compete with this strategy.

Since they couldn’t compete in the short game, Bridgestone looked long term and developed some amazing tires that were competitive at all tracks in all conditions given the right bike. This won them the championship in 2007 with Casey Stoner and Ducati, which caused a mass-defection of many Michelin riders—headlined by Valentino Rossi —over to Bridgestone for the following season.



Dorna (the group that runs MotoGP) seized the enthusiasm for the new tire as an opportunity to go to a “Spec Tire” format so they could influence (along with input from the teams) what they want from the tire.

Want a tire to stay constant all race and not drop off? Okay, we can make that. Want edge grip? Want resilience? Want all of that with quicker warm-up time? What a stiff carcass or a softer one? Like your local shady back-alley dealer, they can get you whatever you want...for the right price.



Amazing things are achievable when you simply need to fulfill requirements and don’t give a shit about budget suffering and cost. But, since we are dealing with public companies that ebb and flow with the free market, there is bound to be an end to the fairytale. Just like Pirelli is at strains with the teams in Formula 1 right now, so too did this become the state of Bridgestone (the previous tire supplier) and MotoGP in recent years.



Still, Bridgestone’s tires literally changed how people rode motorcycles. Marc Marquez’s style is bred from this, and Rossi’s famous joke fromFastest about his impossible last corner move on Lorenzo at Barcelona in 2009 will ring for eternity: “At the maximum braking… I say, ‘Please, don’t slide more because we crash.’ But the front stayed. The Bridgestone front tire is a great tire.”

The Michelin front tire, however, seems to be simply a good tire. Maybe it’s decent. It isn’t great. The spate of front ends washing away at the Valencia test bear witness to that. (Seriously, it looked like these dudes were getting sniped mid-corner by a fully sick Call of Duty gamer.)


Do The Michelin Tires Just Suck?

Not necessarily. First and foremost, bikes designed for Bridgestone tires have a ton of rear weight distribution to desperately get drive from a tire that just wants to spin. The Michelin rear tire kicks the dick off the Bridgestone rear. It’s got grip and longevity, providing riders with the drive of a Saturn V rocket.

Here’s the obvious reveal: This extra grip from the rear is pushing the front on these Michelin tires. That’s an easy fix, right? Well, maybe all they need to do is give the front tire some extra weight distribution. But it’s not even that easy an explanation.

Yes, the rear is pushing the front tire, and yes it is causing front-washing lowside after front-washing lowside. But then we’re also seeing video of Marquez in Turn 13 sliding the Honda at 130 mph. The balance has definitely shifted rearward with the 2016 Michelins, but it’s only a problem when you’re either on the brakes too hard and over-riding the grip (like you can do on the Bridgestone front), or in that peculiar middle ground that exists after braking and before getting on the gas.



Before we assign all the blame on Michelin and declare the 2016 season a bust, I’m confident that these teams will acclimate through bike setup and altering their riding styles with enough practice. The Michelin front is a long way from being anywhere near as good at that Bridgestone, but this issue is far more about riding style than tire rubber quality.
The Second Big Change Tempers The Black Magic of Electronics

The other huge change for 2016 is the move to a unified software with the bikes’ electronics. This is via a single hardware supplier: Italian company Magneti Marelli.

Dorna and IRTA (the International Road Racing Teams Association) have been ironing this plan out over the last few years, with Honda most famously dragging their feet through the process, kicking and screaming that they will no longer have much reason for MotoGP if they can’t have proprietary electronics software. This is, they claim, because it is an important link for them with their production bikes.



This is also a complete line of horse shit. Anyone care to look up the specs of a CBR1000RR and tell me what MotoGP-derived electronics are on it? That refresh we keep hearing about for 2017 better be the best thing since the low fuel warning light if they want to keep up that charade.
Honda’s Secret Weapon Goes Bye Bye

What’s the reason for the vitriolic reluctance from HRC? One word: “torductor.” The torductor is Honda’s baby. It first broke cover in 2011, if my memory serves correctly, and it’s a clever little girl. It is a proprietary device the sits on the front sprocket and measures the actual torque being output from the engine at any given time.

The torductor allows the ECU to “know” the life of the rear tire and predict it’s degradation as those readings change. A brand new rear tire will have X grip and thus Y torque at Z lean angle, therefore it can handle A percent of engine power at B speed and C gear.

This means you are able to ride a 2015 RC213V with the same throttle inputs for every single lap and the bike’s electronic witchcraft near-instantly adjusts the power at the read tire for impossibly near-perfect grip. Every. Single. Fucking. Lap.

However, it’s going away in 2016. All but one sensor on the bikes will be the same for every single team. That proprietary sensor is to allow teams to explore different avenues of development.


Any additional software capabilities have to be unanimously requested by Honda, Yamaha and Ducati (Suzuki, Aprilia and KTM are out in the cold on this, because they’re “new” and IRTA want to provide some brownie points to Honda, Yamaha and Ducati for sticking around so long).



So that means if Honda wanted a torductor-like device to operate with the Magneti Marelli software, they need to propose this to Yamaha and Ducati and get their unanimous support to petition IRTA to add that capability. So even if that support has already been given, it would now be available to anyone who wanted to create a torductor and code for it (the actual coding is still done within each factory and team). TL;DR, it would no longer be the current advantage.

“But what about that one free proprietary sensor each factory gets? Honda could use that slot for the Turducken!”

Not in the same capacity. If it stays around, it’s data won’t be processed fast enough by the ECU for it to be nearly as effective. Cecchinelli also made a very big point, reiterating it for added emphasis, that nothing will be self-learning. There is no capability for that (rather, it was intentionally designed out) with Magneti Marelli’s unified electronics. His example? They (the teams) would no longer have the capability, let’s say, to monitor the degradation of the rear tire and automatically adjust the electronics to suit it. Boom, shots fired.

(Also, while the Turducken was very, very impressive—like, Batman’s secret hideout behind the waterfall impressive—it’s not something that makes me buy into their sob story about taking away proprietary software killing their creativity for road bikes. Give us that on a CBR or get the fuck outta here with that noise, Honda.)
Here’s Why All This Shit Matters

This is a case where free-development and huge budgets drove a motorsport to basically be contested between two factories with everyone else just making up the numbers.

By reducing electronics to a safety net more than an outright performance multiplier, and by giving everyone new tires that are a bit more like consumer products, the racing should be much tighter. With bikes becoming a little more unruly and mistakes more likely to happen, the results will be determined by the riders more than the engineers.




Not only that, but we get to watch as these teams try and accommodate and change their bikes and styles to fit - all with the addition of a bunch of new players who just got a whole lot more competitive.

A more level playing field, with the top dudes learning to compete with less special treatment and up-and-comers on suddenly more competitive machines is fantastic for the sport.
Here Are The Players

It’s very early in the testing days and the lap times mean less than Bieber’s claims about finding Jesus, especially with every team running completely different testing programs.

Honda, Yamaha and Ducati Factory teams will still be the crème de la crème. Suzuki though, is a major dark horse for 2016, with Maverick Viñales lapping quicker than his qualifying time from the 2015 season ender the previous week, ending the test in P2.

Aprilia will finally have a fully redesigned RS-GP, their current bike still based off a production RSV4 engine and frame (even though they have languished, building their GP entry off a bike you can go buy is SUPER impressive to me). KTM’s 2016 will be spent testing and getting up to speed for their 2017 entry into the fray.

Some teams didn’t touch the new electronics, only rode the new tires, while the other went hard in the paint – riding with all new everything #yolo. (People still say that, right?)



By and large though, try to follow along with what’s happening here:
Yamaha

The Factory Yamaha team was on next year’s prototype bikes with the new electronics. Meanwhile the Tech 3 satellite Yamaha team JUST got access to the last year’s Factory hand-me-down bikes of Rossi and Lorenzo. Bradley Smith spent a good amount of the testing spending time on last year’s bike with last year’s electronics to see the differences compared to his satellite bike this season (basically a factory bike from two years ago).

Pol Espargaro though, spent a good chunk of time on his familiar 2015 Tech 3 satellite bike so he could solely focus on acclimating to the Michelin tires. For the afternoon on Day 2 he switched to the new bike (’15 factory hand-me-down) with the new electronics and, of course, Michelin tires. And boy was he was fast - ending up in P9 just behind Rossi, and remarking how he finally has tires that suit his style of riding.


Honda

Honda has a whole different kettle of fish. The RC213V had a far too aggressive engine last year, which caused the rear to spin too much on corner exit and thus kill drive (and destroy tires). The aggressive engine didn’t stop there though, as it was also a tightrope of laser beams under braking. Too much engine braking and the ass tried to trade places with the nose. Too little engine braking and you freewheeled your way into overloading the front tire. See: every crash on an RC213V in 2015 minusthat one where Marquez ran into Rossi.

Initial thoughts are that they are not much better off for 2016, but for different reasons. First is they are probably helped by the extra grip from the rear Michelin, but will over load the front tire quicker. Especially Marquez, who crashed quite a few times on his way to getting the fastest lap in testing. Second is that, so far, the new engine for 2016 isn’t much better at being “gentler.” Honda have always chased horsepower and with Ducati beating them on straight line speed and Yamaha beating them in corner speed, HRC is fighting a battle on multiple fronts.



And then there is Marc Marquez himself. He is so unique in his approach that no other rider has been able to maximize the bike like him. Or we can phrase that another way: No other rider is able to ride a bike developed by Marquez, because it’s a psycho machine and he’s a psycho rider.
Ducati

Scott Redding left Honda, instead slotting in with Pramac Ducati alongside Petrucci on new GP15s. Redding was instantly happier. The Ducati is now the hot bike in MotoGP. It might not have come good on it’s full potential yet, but a lot of teams and riders have a feeling that breakthrough is right around the corner. Interestingly, even with it’s rocket booster engine, corners are also something the Ducati GP15 excels at.

The top Ducati rider is still The Maniac, Andrea Iannone. The moniker suits him from Moto2, but his stellar season has been one of maturity and temperance. In an odd way, his unfortunate shoulder injuries limited how physical he could be on the bike and he was forced to learn that smooth is fast in MotoGP.
Suzuki

What about Suzuki? I haven’t heard confirmation yet on whether Suzuki used 2016 unified electronics to set their fast times, but HO-LY-SHIT. Viñales has been anointed a “Next Generation Alien” by many peers, including his idol Valentino Rossi.



He was P2 behind Marc Marquez. Aleix Espargaro was P4, right behind Pedrosa. It appears the great-handling Suzuki is able to use the grippy rear Michelin quite well, but both riders will still be pining for a seamless gearbox and some more power.

Let’s hope Suzuki make good on the promise they’ve shown so far, to be so down on power and have no seamless box yet, but still be so competitive speaks volumes for the balance and DNA of the GSX-RR bike.

Also, this: Maverick Viñales. Maverick. Did his mother not like him or something? Look, anyone who is named after Top Gun and becomes a MotoGP racer is amazing. Plus he’s a nice dude and is one of the most exciting racers in the world, and he just finished P2 in the testing times on an underpowered, underdeveloped Suzuki GSX-RR.

Yes, we all want to see Rossi win that 10th title, but as the years tick by and exciting racers like Maverick Viñales, Pol Espargaro, Jack Miller and Andrea Iannone are waiting in the wings… well, 2016 should be the start of a very exciting future for MotoGP.

The racing should be closer, the electronics a little less Sci-Fi, and stir that all up with a new tire that will lead to architecture changes with the bikes and I’m waiting with bated breath.



Photos: MotoGP.com