So it has been great watching the factories try to elevate the state of the art performance. Back when Stoner was winning with Ducati, they figured out how to dump fuel into the motor on the straits and then lean it out when the bike was leaned over. Gimmick aside, Ducati did figure out how to get amazing horsepower out of a pretty lean condition on their bikes (I saw an interview of another team where they claimed Ducati was cheating to get that power and not run out of fuel). But going fast is only good if you can stop, especially if your bike is as poor a turner as the Ducati is. So we see the best brakes in the paddock on the Duc's. Apparently out of engine tricks, Ducati is now the most aggressive on aerodynamics, pushing the tech and the rules.
Honda on the other hand has a average bike + super rider approach. By most accounts the Hondas do nothing well. They are not great turners and even have a front end ambiguity that puts the best of them in the gravel. Only MM's elbow lift keeps him on the track. The Honda is fast, but mostly unrideable. It will be interesting to see if MM will share his black magic with little brother, otherwise the larger Alex is destined to follow Crutchlow into the gravel bins of the MotoGP circuit. It says a lot that Lorenzo spent a couple years figuring the Duc out (which he eventually did) but he just walked away from the Honda judging it a dangerous, hopeless motorcycle. But the cost of a great talent like MM is the Honda remains a very average bike, as Honda can be a little lazy on the development when MM can ride anything fast.
The M1 is still probably technically the best platform in MotoGP. Handling is a hard thing to get right, and up until Ducati and Honda strapped rockets to their bikes the M1 played with the other bikes on the grid. Handling is more than settings, its geometry, mass centralization, power pulses, and electronics. The M1 was amazing and the most tale-tale sign was that everyone could ride it fast. It took a tire switch to make the M1 stumble, and while Yamaha was searching to restore that sublime handling on Michelins Ducati and Honda pounced with massive horses.
Then there is Suzuki. Their bike literally turns around the outside of the fastest MotoGP bikes?! The handling of this bike is nothing short of other worldly, and if they can find a little straight line speed it will be a difficult bike to race against on any track. I certainly question if Rins can run with the aliens week in and week out. I still think Lorenzo could easily have run this bike to the front, and put a couple wins a year on her. Wonder how Suzuki let him retire?
So Ducati is still working the power angle. Problem is there is not that much more clever about power, after all is said and done its air in and exhaust out. We already see the other guys catching the Desmo on the straights. With the spec electronics the power angle is severely limited. Aerodynamics is limited too if the FIM doesn't allow rules changes to allow active aerodynamics. Frankly, Ducati looks to be getting to the bottom of their bag of tricks and their riders seems more like they are going to work with lunch box in hand than chasing the world championship.
Honda is milking the rider can make it happen angle. The wear on MM is pretty serious though and you wonder how long MM can take the wear and tear of wrestling the RC all season. MM has been lucky because his crashes mainly happen when he's racing himself, when he's racing everyone else he can turn things down a notch and get the RC home in one piece. It will be interesting when the others can push MM in a race, I think the weaknesses of the RC will be painfully obvious.
I think Suzuki and Yamaha, especially Yamaha are ready to take the lead. They have found enough speed (I hope) that they can again use cornering as a weapon. On top of that they have the riders that can be consistently fast and single lap fast - a critical skill in today's racing. I'm told that one reason Rossi hasn't won in so long is he can't generate the super one lap speeds as the heaviest rider on the grid. The weight lifts the CG enough to impact handling and make the speeds MM can get very difficult to match safely.
What about Aprillia and KTM? I don't think they are close enough yet. Maybe a podium or a wet win even but I think they will be racing for top 10.
I don't think the tests mean that much. A great bike is neutral and can be setup easily for any track, which is what the teams are really looking for in the tests - that perfect neutral setting. I've also heard the cheating is through the roof in tests as teams try to psych each other out with amazing laps.
Anyway that's my 2 cents from my couch watching it all through a window on my computer, lol. I think this will be the year of the "handlers" after 3-4 years of "power" bikes. That is if Michelin doesn't throw a wrench in the mix with a tire that just doesn't play well with the Yamahas and Suzuki. That's the other problem with handling bikes, they can be upset by factors the teams can't control.
What do you guys think?
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