Pramac Australian MotoGP <SPOILED>

[duccarlos]

That was the best MotoGP race I have seen in a very long time.

[Triple J]

Great race!!! 

Great rides by everyone, but especially MM and Iannone. Perfect result IMO, as I want Rossi and JLo as close as possible in points come Valencia.

Don't get too excited on the Duc's speed...they're still using an extra 2L of fuel compared to Yamaha & Honda. That is why they were blowing the doors off of them, although they'd still be one of the faster bikes I think. Next year it's back to being level.

[duccarlos]

We might have seen Iannone's introduction to becoming an Alien. If he can get consistently up there, I would be crapping my pants if I was the one of the top 3 Aliens.

[duccarlos]

I doubt the 2L drove this. Where was Dovi? Phillip Island just suits the Duc.

[Triple J]

I doubt the 2L drove this. Where was Dovi? Phillip Island just suits the Duc.

I agree with you on Iannone. He was looking great.

I disagree on this...the 2L most definitely is the reason behind the power. They could be as lean as everyone else for the entire lap, and then put that extra 2L towards the straights. The rider still has to ride the bike though. Dovi just wasn't up to it today. Iannone has looked better than him for a lot of the season. Look at when Stoner won...where was Capirossi most of the time?

[ducpainter]

Dunno J...according to some interviews earlier in the season Ducati isn't even loading the extra 2l of fuel, and haven't been all season.

Maybe they're lying, but they claim that concession won't affect them at all.

[The Architect]

That was an amazing race.  The best race I've ever seen!

The only thing that could have made that race better is if Iannone also passed J-lo on the last lap.

IANNONE!!!!!!  The man took a seagull to the head and kept going. J-whine's front wheel comes off the ground unexpectedly and he loses 1 second on his lap time.

What's with the extra wings on the Duc?  Did they hire an aviation engineer? 

I hope Iannone can improve as his shoulder gets stronger.

[ducpainter]

http://lanesplitter.jalopnik.com/australia-motogp-andrea-iannone-1-seagull-0-1737190734

While it looks like Iannone head butts the bird, post race footage showed a massive chunk taken out of the front left corner of the fairing where the seagull hit. Everyone but the bird were fortunate enough to make it through the ordeal intact, and Iannone went on to ride a fantastic race.

[OT]

http://lanesplitter.jalopnik.com/australia-motogp-andrea-iannone-1-seagull-0-1737190734

While it looks like Iannone head butts the bird, post race footage showed a massive chunk taken out of the front left corner of the fairing where the seagull hit. Everyone but the bird were fortunate enough to make it through the ordeal intact, and Iannone went on to ride a fantastic race.

what does the missing chunk say about aerodynamics? will we see honda and yamaha taking an ax to their farings to match the duc's speed on the straight? 

[ducpainter]

Pic of the damage...you can see it on the TIM logo on the right side

[ducpainter]

Can't find video...but Kent got abused by Antonelli.

[The Architect]

I still say that if J_lo hit the bird he would have pitted in. The trama would have been to much for him to overcome.

And that double overtake was amazing!

Someone please give Iannone a real bike.  It's taking Ducati too long.

Seeing Marc and Iannone celebrating on the podium was great.  It was genuine excitement.  And J-lo was there too.

I was sure J-lo had cooked his tires dealing with Iannone during the early part of the race. I was also hoping a flock of seagulls would have swooped down and carried him away.

Did Iannone have the soft rear?

[Triple J]

Dunno J...according to some interviews earlier in the season Ducati isn't even loading the extra 2l of fuel, and haven't been all season.

Maybe they're lying, but they claim that concession won't affect them at all.

Not true entirely. They were allowed 24L at the beginning of the year. They claimed they weren't using the full 24L, as they knew they'd lose 2L with any good results (which happened early on). That's the 2L they were talking about. They've been using 22L all season.

No reason to only use 20L...everyone gets 22L next year. Might as well optimize for that now. Still is an advantage this season though. They won't be blowing the doors off of the Yamaha next season...although the Ducs have always had good power, so they'll still probably be a little faster.

[ducpainter]

Not true entirely. They were allowed 24L at the beginning of the year. They claimed they weren't using the full 24L, as they knew they'd lose 2L with any good results (which happened early on). That's the 2L they were talking about. They've been using 22L all season.

No reason to only use 20L...everyone gets 22L next year. Might as well optimize for that now. Still is an advantage this season though. They won't be blowing the doors off of the Yamaha next season...although the Ducs have always had good power, so they'll still probably be a little faster.

Ahhh...

I misunderstood.

<snip>
Did Iannone have the soft rear?

Both Ducs used the same tires as the two Yamahas and the Hondas.

A couple of open bikes used the soft.

[duccarlos]

The issue with the Ducks has never been fuel efficiency, in fact it'seems been the power eating the rear. I doubt that will change next year regardless of fuel allowance.