How much does rider ability play in MotoGP?

[tack]

I can't get over the difference in performance that you see from riders when ever a MotoGp or superbike race hits home soil.

So far this season especially in MotoGP you see a rider who up to that point, has not really performed that well, and all of a sudden he is battling for the lead at his home GP??? Mind you, I do realise that they are all fantastically gifted people but I'm just comparing them to each other.

I watched two yanks battle it out for the lead at Leguna Seca?? Where had they been for the first 7 GP's?

I watched the italians battle it out at Mugello. Most interesting here was Max Biaggi, who up until this GP, seemed to be struggling and totally out of it for the year. In fact a couple of motorcycle commentators here (Australia) have written Max off and reckon he's had his chances and has run out of excuses and that he should step aside.

The best example I've seen of all is ofcourse Rossi. He moves from the all conquering Honda team to Yamaha and dominates (or at least wins a lot anyway). Rider ability must play a huge part in the performance of the bike considering how Yamaha had performed up to this time. People here want him to move to Suzuki next so they can have a chance at winning again.

The interesting thing was watching an interview here (Aussie) with Casey Stoner (runs 250 in motoGP), where the TV journalist asked him about the performance of riders at home GP's and how they perform so much better and he said that a lot had to do with rider confidence.

Which makes you wonder just how much the rider makes to the result in bike racing. We can talk about suspension, tyres, horsepower, technology etc etc but here we have riders who have been struggling or not doing so well or maybe not been winning anyway and then all of a sudden, they are up near the front.

So (I guess this might raise howls of protest) you would have to deduce from the results that the only real difference is the "RIDER". How else can you explain the sudden improvement in performance?

[gauloises]

Home sweet home



S.L
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[california_rookie]

I've noticed this as well. The most recent evidence of this, Nicky Hayden's outstanding perfomance at Laguna Seca, seems to have been down to rider confidence and plenty of experience at the track. And believe me, it was a spectacular sight to behold.

Note: I was probably the only person there cheering for Rossi. Oh the countless dirty looks I recieved.
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[craigs23]

The rider is a massive influence of the bike. I really like Colin Edwards but just take a look at how well he rides the Yamaha in comparison to Rossi. Mind you, Edwards is still getting used to (gaining confidence?) with the bike, and it was good to see him riding it well at Laguna.

However, in MotoGP, the use of the rider is decreasing (slightly) with the use of motorcycle technology, and, money. The use of ever increasing technology to help riders ascertain better control of the machinery is allowing slightly 'lesser' riders to become competitive. Honda's RCV is a very good example of this - Sete didn't quite show as much of his riding talent when he was on 'lesser' bikes and then once he's been given a Honda, he's challenging for the championship. Probably one of the reasons Rossi switched to Yamaha - to show that it was his riding, not the machinery, that was up to the job of winning championships. Jeremy Burgess obviously had a lot to add to make the Yamaha competitive though...

I think modern day in MotoGP today, the rider is still very important, but not as important as in the old days of 500GPs, where you really had to be a real hard nut to control machines that were quite blatantly 'evil' (sorry, no better way of explaining how difficult these machines were to ride, let alone ride competitively). I'm referring to the late 80s/early 90s (Lawson, schwanz, Doohan era).

I'm a bit worried about this new 800cc rule. It may make the sport closer for a while, but new technology would be introduced to help tame what must be a very peaky, highly tuned engine. Will this technology take some control away from the rider? Will it only be an advantage for the bigger, richer teams (i.e. Honda)? Only time will tell.

Have a look at BSB - my favourite motorcycle sport. The riding talent of the rider runs paramount as all the machinery is so closely matched. Plus, dare I say it. I find it more entertaining than MotoGP.

[gauloises]

I wonder how Nickey's confidence will hold at Donington. Will his confidence after the win at Laguna help him get a podium finish at Donington. I wonder were Shakey and James will finish. Shakey scored his first point at Laguna. Well done SHAKEY



S.L
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If you tell a lie long enough loud enough and often enough the people will believe it.

[JeffT]

[mchaggis]

The rest of them were slower relative to the American boys because most of them had never ridden what appears to be a very technically demanding circuit before. Like the commentators were saying, that makes a big difference in confidence when it comes to pushing it over blind crests for example. Rossi and the rest were getting faster the longer they rode.
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[craigs23]

Must be a testament to how good Rossi is at learning a new track, he was on pace with the locals throughout most of the race (and closed on Edwards towards the end - though Edwards had chosen a slightly softer rear). I think they said he learnt where the track went by playing on his Playstation - Gran Turismo possibly?

[Barry_M2]

It doesn't just come down to how the rider 'rides' the bike, its all to do with the feedback he gives to his mechanics to set the bike up, and Rossi is very good at this (as well as a good rider), which is why he made an instant impact at Yamaha.

He told them how to set the bike up, they did, and he wins. The Yam doesn't have to power of the Honda but he still beats them almost every race.

And I'm a Honda fan too!!!

[colin1]

id say its about how well someone knows the circuit. If a rider has a lot of experience doing lots of laps on one circuit they will be better.

For example there was a woman on top gear who has raced around the nurburgring for years and went round in a transit van at a similar speed to clarkson in a high performance car.
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[craigs23]

I think Jeremy Burgess plays a big role in Rossi's MotoGP success as well.