Thread for photos and discussion on the up and coming 2011 MotoGP season.

[Moto-Rex]

Yes...the 2011 MotoGP season will be upon us soon, and it should be an exciting year with all the new rider changes.

If you come across any photos of the new GP bikes and there new colour schemes, or just want comment on them, this is the thread to do so.

Rossi's Desmosedici GP11 unveiled.

I think last years "duke" looked a little better.

 

[jon]

I personally can't wait for the new season and it should be interesting to see how Rossi, Stoner and Spies go on their new machines. Any predictions? I suppose Lorenzo will still be the man to beat but I suspect Spies will upset things a bit. Rossi could also make the Ducati go well as he seems so good at developing the bikes and it is already a very fast bike.

 

[brian66]

I think Rossi has made a bad decision to ride a Ducati. The bike needs a rider who is prepared to take it over the limit and more times than not, crash to be competitive. I predict he will come mid pack this year.

In the only test he did on the bike in November 2010 he came second last on times. Dont forget he came 3rd at the same track just a few days before so his injury was not a factor.
Almost 4 seconds slower than Stoner. That has never happened to Rossi in his career other than his first year as a 16 year old.

He was in the first 4 on the time sheets on his first test on the Yamaha coming from Honda.

I am a big fan of Rossi and have number 46 plates on all my bikes in Thailand plus a Vale 46 plate on my car in Australia. However, I really believe he has made a big mistake riding the Ducati. It is going to be embarrassing to see him trying to make that piece of Spaghetti handle.

Stoner, Simoncelli, Pedrosa and Dorvisioso will be the guys to beat this year. The Honda was the fastest and the best handler from the last quarter of the 2010 season.

The Yamaha has reached its peak of development and you could see that last year when Lorenzo came 4th a number of times during later part of the season. The bike couldn’t do the times and he could do nothing to catch them. It wasn’t a tyre thing as they were all on the same tyres and compound for those races.
If Pedrosa hadn’t injured himself I think he would have clean swept the last 5 races.

The first test is from the 1st to the 3rd of February at Sepang.

I will be at Sepang on the 31st for a track day so I hope to see all the bikes and riders if I am lucky.

I am riding a Honda Blade so I am a little biased toward Honda

 

[jon]

That was an interesting and informative post, thanks. Are they going back to the bigger engines next year?

 

[jon]

I was just reading an interview with Rossi in the UK paper,mcn. He seems to be aware of what he is up against with the Ducati. He says," Historically the Ducati has always been evil and nasty. You have to ride it with your fingernails, your claws. I think I will be able to do it." Good luck to him.

 

[monsterman]

I want to see Rossi win on an Italian bike that would be the crowning Glory of his career ...then of course ducati will release ROSSI replicas , to go with the Paul smart classic and the Mike Hailwood replica etc etc

 

[Ian Bungy]

I think if anyone has a Chance of "Taming the Beast" or in this Case Refining it to be more User Friendly, Rossi is the Man!!! It may take Him the first Season to get it working though!!!

 

[DavidFL]

The Doctor has a pre season say:

Valentino Rossi opens up over key MotoGP rivals

From
http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/167316/1/valentino_rossi_opens_up_over_key_motogp_rivals.html

Valentino Rossi has given a frank account as to what he thinks of his main MotoGP rivals heading into this season's championship, most notably arch-nemesis' Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner.

Rossi, who is gearing up for his race debut with Ducati in less than two weeks time at Losail, has been doing the media rounds in his home country to celebrate the two Italian 'motorcycling institutions' coming together for the first time.

However, it is his interview with talk show host Piero Chiambretti, which is set to be broadcast in Italy on Friday, that is likely to garner much attention, not least for comments made about certain rivals.

An excerpt taken from the show and transcribed by Sportmediaset.com sees Rossi call former FIAT Yamaha team-mate 'unpleasant', while Stoner – though the favourite in Rossi's eyes – is let down by often 'repeating the same mistakes'.

“Stoner is the favourite for the championship, but I also say that to bring a jinx on him,” he jokes. “I give him 10 out of 10 for speed and talent, but a bit less for tactics and cunning. He is a mad man who often repeats the same mistake.

“Jorge is a great because everybody agrees about him in the sense that everybody thinks he is unpleasant. He is strong, he deserves 9.5. I won't say he is intelligent because that's a strong word. Let's say he is crafty.”

Rossi also touches upon his Ducati team-mate Hayden, revealing there will not be a return of the infamous 'wall' that split himself and Lorenzo in the Yamaha pit garage.

“Hayden is strong, he deserves an 8. He is my team-mate and therefore is my first rival. The wall? With Hayden there won't be one, whereas there was with Lorenzo because I was hoping to not teach him all of my tricks. That is something that generated so much controversy, but things passed from one side to the other anyway.

“Simoncelli deserves 8.5,” he says moving on to his friend. “He still needs to show more, but he has a very quick Honda and he will certainly be a thorn in my side.”

Finally, Rossi harks back to his bitter rivalry with countryman Max Biaggi, claiming the reigning World Superbike Champion didn't learn how to deal with defeat.

“I look back on those fights with fondness,” he adds. “Away from the track, he used various tricks to try and destabilise me. Knowing how to lose is one of the most difficult things and Biaggi was never very good at that.”