Practice Report

Another chance for JT to wrap up the title, though neutrals and Haga and Biaggi fans probably want it to go on a bit longer.

Park, can you summarize the basic differences between WSB and Moto GP? I'm not a bke guy, but I've seen some racing recently and have taken some interest in it.

not parky but i will try to answer..... <yikes>

WSB is based on production bikes and it is possible to buy a stock honda (for eg) and throw lots of money in the shape of parts and end up with a WSB bike.

Moto Gp is prototype racing and no realistic amount of money would get you a competitive moto gp machine...

WSB is based on a 1000cc 4cyl bike or a 1200cc v-twin(with some inlet restrictions).there is a limited amount of work you can do on the engine(tuning) and i think the cases have to be stock or production units....
suspension is almost certainly aftermarket specialist kit(ie ohlins) but is still a level below what motogp stuff uses...

any clearer? no? <roflmao>

there is also a higher min weight for WSB and they will typically produce around 200BHP whereas a moto gp engine of 800cc will push out a bit more (220bhp and rising). and moto gp uses carbon brakes where WSB has to use steel discs....

hope that will help!

<thumbsup> ;) <huh>

That makes perfect sense flatdog. What are the comparable times on the same circuit?

Qatar which is a pretty fast track had a fastest WSB lap by Max Biaggi of 1.59.194 vs Casey Stoner's 1.56.528 on the Ducati MotoGP bike.

At Donington which is slower, shorter and twistier the pole times were Troy Bayliss of WSB on 1'30.370 which is against Colin Edwards MotoGP time of 1.28.531.

It seems to vary from track to track, but the longer and faster the track the bigger the gap seems to be.

Of course the fact that WSB runs on control tyres probably costs them around a second. Could between them next year.

And back on topic here are the superpole results:

Link

Toseland crashed but was saved by the quirky WSB qualifying rules that mean you can't lose too many grid postions. :(

Race 1 results

1 Max Biaggi ITA Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSXR1000 K7 39 min 24.967 secs
2 Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati Xerox 999F07 +5.638 secs
3 James Toseland GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR 1000RR +7.452 secs
4 Noriyuki Haga JPN Yamaha Motor Italia YZF R1 +10.079 secs
5 Michel Fabrizio ITA DFX Treme Honda CBR 1000RR +22.257 secs
6 Lorenzo Lanzi ITA Ducati Xerox 999F07 +25.662 secs
7 Regis Laconi FRA PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse ZX10R +34.811 secs
8 Fonsi Nieto ESP PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse ZX10R +38.075 secs
9 Shinichi Nakatomi JPN Yamaha Motor France-Ipone YZF R1 +39.07 secs
10 Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse ZX10R +47.702 secs
11 Jakub Smrz CZE Team Caracchi Ducati SC 999 F05 +47.806 secs
12 Marco Borciani ITA Sterilgarda - Berik Ducati 999 F05 +53.488 secs
13 Karl Muggeridge AUS Alto Evolution Honda CBR 1000RR +54.509 secs
14 Steve Martin AUS Celani Team Suzuki GSXR1000 K7 +1min 01.967 secs
15 Yoann Tiberio FRA Alto Evolution Honda CBR 1000RR +1min 08.291 secs
16 Lorenzo Morelli ITA Team Pedercini Ducati 999RS +1min 08.517 secs
17 Dean Ellison GBR Team Pedercini Ducati 999RS +1min 41.322 secs

Race 2

1 Troy Bayliss AUS Ducati Xerox 999F07 39 min 30.862 secs
2 Max Biaggi ITA Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra GSXR1000 K7 +1.431 secs
3 Noriyuki Haga JPN Yamaha Motor Italia YZF R1 +4.466 secs
4 Troy Corser AUS Yamaha Motor Italia YZF R1 +13.766 secs
5 Roberto Rolfo ITA Ten Kate Honda CBR 1000RR +20.848 secs
6 Ruben Xaus ESP GMB Racing Ducati 999F06 +21.93 secs
7 Lorenzo Lanzi ITA Ducati Xerox 999F07 +29.847 secs
8 Fonsi Nieto ESP PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse ZX10R +29.986 secs
9 Shinichi Nakatomi JPN Yamaha Motor France-Ipone YZF R1 +40.126 secs
10 Max Neukirchner GER Suzuki Germany GSXR1000 K6 +40.733 secs
11 James Toseland GBR Ten Kate Honda CBR 1000RR +42.544 secs
12 Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse ZX10R +54.504 secs
13 Karl Muggeridge AUS Alto Evolution Honda CBR 1000RR +55.024 secs
14 Steve Martin AUS Celani Team Suzuki GSXR1000 K7 +55.304 secs
15 Yoann Tiberio FRA Alto Evolution Honda CBR 1000RR +59.781 secs
16 Norino Brignola ITA Team Guandalini Ducati 999RS +1min 00.609 secs
17 Lorenzo Morelli ITA Team Pedercini Ducati 999RS +1min 06.922 secs
18 Marco Borciani ITA Sterilgarda - Berik Ducati 999 F05 +1min 18.228 secs
19 Dean Ellison GBR Team Pedercini Ducati 999RS +1 Lap secs


The track was much better than I expected. Overtaking was hard, but the way parts of the track had swooping corners made it look very dramatic.

Biaggi was unbeatable in race 1 it was a pretty good race until it settled and then got spread out. Haga and Toseland had a really good battle.

Race 2 was a tight fight between Biaggi and Bayliss until Biaggi overcooked it a bit and had to settle for second. JT did exactly what he shouldn't do in his situation and crashed, though he managed to finish 11th for 5 points. Looks like JT is doing the British thing of making it as hard as possible. <hitwall>

What way has this left the championship standings? Does JT have much to do to secure the crown?

The points are:

1 Toseland GBR 396
2 Biaggi ITA 367
3 Haga JPN 363
4 Bayliss AUS 341
5 Corser AUS 267
6 Lanzi ITA 192
7 Xaus ESP 187
8 Rolfo ITA 177
9 Neukirchner GER 136
10 Fabrizio ITA 123

The gap is 29 points which is still pretty good, provided you don't crash. Two podiums would do it. But it's now slightly more uncomfortable.

Cheers Park <thumbsup>