I think the rules are being changed next year to suit ducati, they're not going to be full spec engines etc. Its a real shame.
checa seems to be going to Kwak.... problem seems to be outright power... the removal of inlet restrictions have only brought 5 bhp or so... that seems to be due to the air and fuel heating up in the airbox that runs hot after 4 laps... they're also testing bigger airboxes through different underbodies of the fuel tank.... to allow more air over the rear cylinder... a dutch open SBK ( just SSTK spec) came into 0,5 seconds of the laprecord at SPA and lead the race for 5 laps until he fell back... that time means the bike itself is not a bad bike... but there are issues to be solved...
I knew this was coming I was at silverstone at the weekend and all the riders were interviewed on the main stage on Saturday night, Nicky was asked what his options were in WSBK and all he would let on was there was an offer in WSBK on an Italian bike but he also seemed confident he has good options to stay in motogp. I wish the guy good luck I still think he can be competitive wherever he goes on the right bike
This lot reckon he's going to replace Ben Spies at PramacMotoGP Ducati: Nicky Hayden al posto di Ben Spies nel team Pramac?
no way on earth thats gonna happen. I think hed do better on a satellite honda if a ride came up. sadly his career is on the downward slope and good rides will be hard to come by in motogp. he should do a biaggi and join wsbk. better racing and better options
Don't know about Marco but isn't the BMW Italia team the ex Ducati WSBK squad (Feel racing). I wonder whether Alstare will be running the Ducatis next year..........
yep BMW and Aprilia are rumoured to both be pulling out in a factory ran sense, BMW definitely. It's said that its likely that Aprilia may do the same but leave the bikes ran by a private team, just like Ducati did, whether BMW will continue support for private teams I don't know. i think I've read that Aprilia may look to put 3 bikes on the grid and Melandri is heading there though. It'd be a pity if laverty or Guintoli lost the seat as they're both strong, Guintoli has had a superb season but hampered by his mountain bike crash. Checa to Kawasaki? it'd be interesting as that's a strong line up again in a 3 man team, Baz is coming along well and Sykes is just unstoppable on his day. Checa wouldn't have anywhere to hide though, it's up to speed or get hammered by both team mates. I don't think Checas any loss for Ducati as he's not trying anywhere near enough, I appreciate he's lost confidence in the bike but he can't run that far behind his team mate and expect to be top dog. Hayden on a pani? Might work out well, lets be honest he's used to pushing a bike until it goes over the edge, perhaps that's what it needs, a damn good thrashing
I think the airbox/ fuel heating up is clutching at straws I'm afraid, temps will be higher at the start of the race after the warm-up lap and wait on the grid. A larger airbox is always good though.
Airbox technology is a real complex subject, shape size all have an impact on the air pressure inside which ultimately is performance!
airbox is critical on a twin more so than an I4. there are many factors that make a good airbox. but heating the air up is a non starter imho due to the sheer throughput of air
Does anyone know WHY BMW and Aprilia are leaving WSBK? I would have thought that the series gave their top of the range sport bikes real racing credentials and has done much to enhance their brand image (and in the case of Aprilia, visibility). Having finally beaten Ducati, why do they just knob off into the sunset? It's a real pity. Moto GP doesn't have a very full grid and nor does WSBK, despite it being the road-bike-derived series. Now that grid will shrink even further. I just don't get it. You can't say that BMW are strapped for cash, whatever Aprilia feels like.
I think its also to do with the rule change for next year where they're having the rules changed to suit ducati again by reducing what you can do to the bike so they won't have the same level of tune etc.
When on opening the throttle, the airbox is so small it draws a vacuum... where it should be overpressurised...this costs torque on exit mostly costing both acceleration and top speed.. it needs at least 5 liters of air more to avoid this. the frame being the entry of the air limits maximum intake as well as that entry cannot be widened... and looking at the stock airintake, it's not the smoothest either, now is it.. this is on the project list for this winter... perhaps they just feel that the rules getting closer to SSTK no longer need the full blown factory support it takes to compete today... so if they loose, its the team, when they win , its the bike... perhaps WSBK is a bit underrated for the moment.. they're almost as fast as GP , the efforts in numbers is staggering ( AP takes 4 engines per race weekend!) and rebuilds are at 400km ..
