I see my monies safe on the Moto Rapido Hopper front. How long before he gets pissed off with the bike falling apart around him?
I even stopped myself liking or commenting on Wilfs stuff, just in case it was me. It wasnt. Ffs reckon if they werent a dealer, they'd have bought a kwacker by now
I think now they have a rider that's prepared t push, they are going to need some investment to get the bike reliable. Hopkins looked to me a little like he was over riding the bike today, where as at Thruxton he just looked unbelievable! I mean seriously I was trackside and it was awesome to watch the commitment he had on the throttle with the bike on its side
Brookes is quickly becoming one of my all time favourites to watch, he's just awesome when he's got the bit between his teeth and pushing on. Pity he was effectively handicapped by a bag of shite suzuki for a few years but he's back on it now. I reckon he'll be heading wsbk and so he should be if given a ride. Did you see how he performed in Germany as a complete noob and riding a completely different spec of R1? Super talent
Not sure the depth of challenger was as deep in 2000...top 10 all capable of a win Been a fan of his for years, other than his obvious knocking off of rutter on a ducati a few years ago his style of win or bin makes exciting viewing Perosnally, I hope he stays with BSB.
No they're not lol. Jackson, easton, cooper, mainwaring, etc In hodgsons race he had Chris Walker, John Reynolds, James Haydon and Steve Hislop, mc kenzie, Toseland, crawford, Emmett.
Incredible racing! That supersport is not for the faint hearted. Crikey it was full on. I said to someone else before the season started that it was gonna be Josh Brooks's yr. Before race 2 when James Whit spoke to hopper on the grid, i thought hopper was gonna cry. Frustration & anger. Wtf...they couldnt sort the bike. Looked v bad imo. Top job by BSB marshalls..best in the business.
Terrible. Absolutely terrible. What can they do?! I know for fact the prep is meticulous yet small glitches (although a snapped header is hardly a glitch!) keep stopping them
Yeah it does smack of them just needing some more staff though, think they run it with 6 or so really sharp guys but the littlest things can get missed. The clutch though, has been an issue on and off for a few rounds and I think they need to sort that out somehow! I think Hopkins has the pace, perhaps they will get some bigger sponsorship next season and it will push the whole team on?
Sorry but the buck stops with them. It's all well and good soaking up the glory with podiums but if the weekend turns into a cluster fuck you have to be accountable. That's life. Well mine anyway. MR need to up the ante.
Bit harsh. Not sure what podium glory you are thinking of...think Phil has a point, as its not even 6, think it may be 3 full time guys of which one is team principal and lead technical guy. Not sure how that comares with other etams, although PBM and Millwake have more than twice that and the biggest benefit is zoned responibility. Not quite F1 or MGP but almost No idea what the clutch issue is tho, it seems to be every round and has been there as an issue since the panigale started being raced, yet WSBK don't suffer. Motec software issue possibly??
Fair enough. I'm not beating down on MR. They did an immaculate job on my bike, fair play. But they had a dreadful weekend and I stand by my comments. Life ain't no picnic.
(disclaimer - I could be talking complete balls) As well as doing well in WSB these days, didn't the Panigale win in Italy and some other places? how come it seems to have issues in BSB? Ducati seem to be keen to support teams that want to race it to get the bikes on the grid but it seems MR have a bunch of issues to deal with??
Bsb use the motec ecu do all the factory work for electronics is junked. When you think they use gps vs throttle position to mimic TC (like they don't have TC ) and with blippers and other parameters no factory (or minimal) help it makes it pretty tough. Same for all teams I know but when you have BMW and Kawasaki teams (not team) even without sharing settings they must be able (told to) share common stuff by the factory so they can all be up to speed quicker. As an armchair fan, reads a bit, discusses racing a bit, that's my view as to why MR cannot and will not be a contender. Without factory resources, not sure what else they can do other than what they are doing. Expect Hopper to be on a BMW next year...
I think you're right. The Panigale is having a good dollop of success in Europe and across the pond. Not sure about engine configuration as per series though. I think BSB require a standard mill (crankshaft, cases, rods, pistons) but teams can fiddle with the heads giving aggressive cam/valve settings. And they can beef up the chasis too I think. I'm sure there are lads on here that can put me right. Maybe Hopper just thrashes the tits right off it and takes it past its threshold. Maybe I'm talking bollox n'all...
That makes a lot of sense (unfortunately for MR!). So Superstock is the closest UK series that is comparable to other series abroad that the Panigale has done well in then?
