WSB 09 The Island, BMW, Corser and Xaus

[Guest24]

Frank, thank you for that second Corser interview. I stated in an earlier post that te team was wanting to amass data from these early races and were not interested in having their drivers go balls to the wall and crash a bike. This is smart racing.

[chewie]

Originally Posted by Nail24

That's a problem with the digital pocket cameras. The fast feature has a hard time coping with 298 kph. lol Where were you viewing the race from chewie?

Probably not far off your estimate of the speed bubba...Turn 1 - nice and close to the riders there - maybe 10 meters if that. Great to see the action of the riders as they gear down and get down low, charging up to Southern Loop (the first left hander where Ben got nudged off by Max)

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Sounds like you got bit by shutter lag, Chewie. P&S cameras are famous for that.

Damn the shutter lag...I gotta get me some good gear - I have an EOS3 35mm Canon but it's not dig though I get the pics put onto disc. I nearly bought a 300mm lens the other day but even 2nd hand I am looking at a fair bit of coin and not sure whether to sell the EOS and go full dig. Can my camera take a digital 300mm lens? that way I could get the camera a little later.




that is a great pic!
I like poshas wheelie pic too!

what do they say here in Vic? "Grouse!"

[Dr. Curve]

Frank, thanks so much for the candid and experienced comments by T C. Does anyone have video of the "save from heaven" he is talking about on the last lap. Must have been razor blade close. Bravo BMW and the riders who make them go. We knew a top 10 was possible and they more than did it. Could have been in the top five had the start position been closer to the front.

[roger albert]

Awesome shot. Next race should give a better idea of how good they really are.
On the plus side, they should have their crap together for superpole.
On the minus side, so should most of the other teams, and it won't be Corser's home track again. Can't wait to see it.

[branners]

Shreddr, I am lucky enough to work close to the business and sometimes, it all works out.
It was a great view but things went a bit pear-shaped in SBK for TK on Sunday, so I stayed out of the way.
I got to chat with some of the stars of the series, and even had Bayliss say gday while I was talking to someone who we both know. As much as he is a great rider, he is a top fella as well.

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by roger albert

Awesome shot. Next race should give a better idea of how good they really are.
On the plus side, they should have their crap together for superpole.
On the minus side, so should most of the other teams, and it won't be Corser's home track again. Can't wait to see it.

Next race will tell you nothing,Flyaway race,track covered in sand,the next race that will tell you anything is Valencia,the riders know it and all the teams both know it and have tested there,thats when your going to see who's got what.

[roger albert]

Not sure I buy that. It remains a neutral track (no one like Corser getting a home court advantage), unlike PI or Valencia. It should also see less teams caught out by the newness of the 09 superpole qualifying. You may have a point about Valencia, but it ignores the above 2 aspects. "Next race will tell you nothing" is way too strong.

[Guest24]

Originally Posted by Chris Canning

Next race will tell you nothing,Flyaway race,track covered in sand,the next race that will tell you anything is Valencia,the riders know it and all the teams both know it and have tested there,thats when your going to see who's got what.

Chris, they must have a huge blower to keep the dunes where they belong at Losail. Will it be under the lights like GP last year? Hard to pick tyres after dark when the track temp drops off so rapidly, I would think.

BMW will still be in the data gathering mode IMUO

[Deans BMW]

I think that BMW did great....in spite of Alpha Racing being so seemingly inexperienced. The race manager made ,seems to me, two major incorrect tire decisions. In spite of that, BMW looks like a major contender.

[bradzdotcom]

Originally Posted by Chris Canning

Next race will tell you nothing.

if you're speaking of Qatar, it could be more interesting that you might think.
there's a rumor going around this week that one of the MotoGP guys has asked to be entered as a wildcard rider in SBK that weekend.

can't tell you his name, but his initials are valentino rossi.

[Guest24]

Originally Posted by bradzdotcom

if you're speaking of Qatar, it could be more interesting that you might think.
there's a rumor going around this week that one of the MotoGP guys has asked to be entered as a wildcard rider in SBK that weekend.

can't tell you his name, but his initials are valentino rossi.

Who's bike is he going to ride?

[bradzdotcom]

haven't a clue. just heard the rumor, sent a couple of IM's to people who SHOULD know and the responses i got were "yep, heard the same thing". beats me.
obviously, i'd hit the auto-dialer and call Val at home and ask him, but we've been sort on the outs since that little BBQ incident at his place last summer.
my fault. never should have mentioned that i didn't like his pasta salad.

[Bob Hancock]

First Steve head-butts the Dalai Lama over beers and now this! So disappointed in my Pelican Bros.

[signit98]

Originally Posted by Nail24

Will it be under the lights like GP last year? Hard to pick tyres after dark

So true... tires do fear the dark and the uncertainty that comes with it... so do most bikes, actually...

Don't chastise me, I learned that from Brad... all sorts of fun stuff you can find in the manual.

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by roger albert

Not sure I buy that. It remains a neutral track (no one like Corser getting a home court advantage), unlike PI or Valencia. It should also see less teams caught out by the newness of the 09 superpole qualifying. You may have a point about Valencia, but it ignores the above 2 aspects. "Next race will tell you nothing" is way too strong.

I'll stick by what i said,as Eddy Lawson used to say,'The ground war starts in Europe' that might have been GP's but WSB is just the same.

[roger albert]

Not necessarily disagreeing, but still fail to see how the round-2 neutral track doesn't tell you more about riders/teams/bikes than the rider-biased tracks of rounds 1 and 3. It certainly doesn't mean NOTHING.

[Bob Hancock]

Originally Posted by roger albert

It certainly doesn't mean NOTHING.

Yeah, but it COULD if we ignore the results.

[Guest24]

Losail is such a unique track compared to the others on the circuit, Roger. I agree that the track has no preference for any of the drivers. Hard place for any of the drivers to ever call home. Pardon me; but, this is the same region of the world that brings in small boys to race their camels. With the sand and temperatures. can't imagine a worse place to race. The novelty of night racing is so NASCAR in my opinion. What do you do if a seagull comes swooping in for a french fry. The drivers are certainly at greater risk nigh racing. that's just one man's opinion.

[JonyRR]

THIS is all you need to know:

It's spelled 'Ben Spies'

all others are going to be sucking hind mammary

[Chris Canning]

Originally Posted by roger albert

Not necessarily disagreeing, but still fail to see how the round-2 neutral track doesn't tell you more about riders/teams/bikes than the rider-biased tracks of rounds 1 and 3. It certainly doesn't mean NOTHING.

Whats this neutral thing Rog!!! these guys are pro's some of e'm have been at it for years,there's no home track.

Going out to Losail is pot luck,pot luck?? how much sand is on the track there's already an element of luck with the quality of the tyres!!,by the time they've been to Valencia and Assen,then it'll be who's got what,and of course that will change again for Monza as thats a law unto itself,and then you'll see exactly what BM under the bonnet