[roger albert]

Should be interesting. Hope BMW does well.
But talking about 175hp shows you're out of it as far as modern racing goes.
That's not even national level power. That's club racing numbers. Not even necessarily top tier club kit. They're probably making a good deal more. 175 is just a marketing thing.

Corser is a killer developer by all counts, but he hasn't won a race, even on a bike clearly capable of winning (reference point: Haga) so I'm not sure.

I don't think Yamaha cheaped out. I think Ducati threw crazy money at the rider they thought had the best chance of winning it: Haga.

Still, as was said earlier in the thread, Corser is good at extracting about 98% of what a bike can do, so in places where other guys struggle and the BMW is particularly well suited, some top 5s seem doable. Xaus has flashes of brilliance too.

This should be good.

Strange how folks that whine about chains and telescopics all the sudden want one and talk about how good it will do as soon as there's a roundel involved though. Just shows it's always been fan=bois stuff rather than rational input.

I'm really torn between rooting for Haga/Ducati, or BMW, or my CMRA homie and fellow yank, Mr. Spies. There's a top=tier rider or bike from every country that is a major motorcycle player this year. It's wide open.

OK, which rider or riders do we think will win in the first round?
I have no darn idea this time.