WSBK '12-Round 1 -Phillip Island (spoilers)

[Buckethead]

 

[zarn02]

http://motomatters.com/analysis/2012/02/25/2012_philip_island_wsbk_round_up_cancell.html

Hell.

A bad way to begin a new season.

[OT]

2:30 and 3:30 eastern on speed Sunday

Here's what's on the SpeedTV website's WSBK page...

"Filling the void left by ‘09 rookie champ Ben Spies, Max Biaggi took the championship by storm aboard his V4-powered Aprilia RSV4 in 2010. However, fellow veteran aces Noriyuki Haga, Troy Corser, Carlos Checa, and Leon Haslam could pose a threat to Biaggi’s dominance in ‘11 with European racebikes of their own (Aprilia, Ducati, and BMW)."

[Raux]

6 kilos apparently didn't hurt Checa too much 

[ducpainter]

Apparently highsiding at 140 mph is no big deal to Checa.

Simply amazing.

It's gonna be a great year.

[kopfjäger]

Holy shit Max 

[Greg]

Holy shit Max 

Yeah he looks like he is going to be tough to beat this year.

[thought]

I dont like biaggi... but damn, that was pretty freaking impressive.  That Aprilia looks pretty perfectly set up this year in his hands.

[Triple J]

Haslam...5th with a 1-week-old broken leg. Wtf.  

Glad to see Checa start race 2, that high side was nasty!

BMW looks to have improved, and the Kawis look to really have improved. Very cool.  

Someone needs to have a close look at Max's bike. His bike was crushing everyone on the straight. Beating the Honda and Ducati there isn't a surprise, but BMW and Kawi too?   I'd be a little surprised if anything was up, but they do have a history of pushing the rules as far as they can. Funny that the powers thought it necessary to add weight to the Duc this year...then the Ape does that.

[duccarlos]

Yeah, I don't believe for a second that Max is that good. There's something up with that Ape.

[Spidey]

Watching Biaggi come through the pack was impressive, though not as fun to watch as I would liked.  Me no likey Max.

The best race of the weekend was seein Rea trying to hold of Sykes.  Sykes should have had him about 2 laps before the final lap, but Rea's lines were just amazing.  He couldn't even get the bike to the apex of some of the turns and was spinning it up wildly coming out of 'em, but still managed to almost hold off Sykes 'til the end.  Rea even added a huge smoky on the final turn.  Fun to watch.  Too bad the Honda sucks again this year.

I can't believe that Checa raced after that highside.  It prolly even made him nostalgic for the 500GP era.  

BMW was good at the beginning of last year too and then they started to suck.  As long as they are using their own in-house electronics package, I'll remain skeptical.  Melandri and Haslam is a good duo though.  Strong riders.  The Laverty-Biaggi pairing is the other really strong team.

Someone needs to have a close look at Max's bike. His bike was crushing everyone on the straight. Beating the Honda and Ducati there isn't a surprise, but BMW and Kawi too?   I'd be a little surprised if anything was up, but they do have a history of pushing the rules as far as they can. Funny that the powers thought it necessary to add weight to the Duc this year...then the Ape does that.

I think the front straight speeds were a bit deceptive.  It was a combination of HP and drive.  The priller was putting down the power soooooo much better than everyone else out of the last turn that it appeared that he had a massive HP advantage down the front straight.  Don't get me wrong, he did, but it was magnified by his drive.

[Triple J]

The best race of the weekend was seein Rea trying to hold of Sykes.

That was definitely fun to watch. Rea outbraking him at the end of the straight on the last (?) lap was amazing.  I couldn't believe his entry speeds into some of the corners knowing his rear was shot.

I think the front straight speeds were a bit deceptive.  It was a combination of HP and drive.  The priller was putting down the power soooooo much better than everyone else out of the last turn that it appeared that he had a massive HP advantage down the front straight.  Don't get me wrong, he did, but it was magnified by his drive.

Ya, I know. It looked to be a huge differential though, probably aided by drafting as well. It's Aprilia...someone should have a look anyway! 

[gm2]

Yeah, I don't believe for a second that Max is that good. There's something up with that Ape.

there is tech inspection, before and after..  he is that good.  but in addition to (obviously) some more engine (keep in mind it's the only V4 on the grid..) they clearly have nailed the settings.  it puts that much power to the ground but doesn't destroy the tire.  amazing.

+ 1 on the rea/sykes thing.  johnny was riding his nuts off.

[gm2]

craziest thing about checa's highside was steve martin calling it seconds before it happened...  god love that guy as a commentator.

[duccarlos]

That didn't take long...

http://www.crash.net/world+superbikes/news/177121/1/althea_boss_concerned_by_biaggi_fight_back.html