Honda Road Racerhead #46

Welcome to Road Racerhead’s annual Valentino Rossi edition (#46), which finds me typing on a plane bound from Milan to Atlanta. After attending last weekend’s Valencia MotoGP finale and the first third of a three-day test, I drove the two-and-a-half hours to Madrid, spent an all-nighter editing in my hotel, hopped a 6 a.m. flight to Bergamo where my mother-in-law met me with a huge bagful of swag for her granddaughter, jumped on a bus to Milan where I checked into my new hotel, and hopped the metro to the EICMA show. That’s where I’ve spent the last three days—checking out all the latest machinery and products by day and proofreading by night—and judging by the way I woke up feeling this morning, the hectic schedule and lack of sleep has caught up with me. That being the case, I’m going to take it easy with this column this week.

The Valencia GP started with Casey Stoner—who had won the previous two rounds and dominated practice and qualifying—high-siding out of the race on the warm-up lap. The biggest news, however, wasn’t anything that happened over the weekend but what’s scheduled to happen in 2012. That, it seems, is when MotoGP will enter its third era, making a return to a 1,000cc format but with more basic technology, as Dorna and the manufacturers face a frightening future with a welcome new pragmatism.

With the current rate of spending unsustainable even for the likes of Honda and Yamaha (the former of which is rumored to be losing Repsol as a title sponsor after next season), and Dorna itself struggling to make the numbers add up, MotoGP’s new iteration—with less-evolved, less-sophisticated machinery—should make our sport better positioned for a healthy future. According to my friend Enrico Borghi of the Italian motorcycle weekly Moto Sprint, factory teams are likely to disappear or at least lose influence, as they farm out many of their racing responsibilities to satellite squads (much as is currently happening in AMA Pro Road Racing).

Depending upon which of the rumors floating around Valencia you’re inclined to believe, the new bikes will be a) new, dumbed-down prototypes, b) revived 990cc prototypes from MotoGP’s 2002-’06 era, c) prototype chassis with modified-but-production-based engines (not unlike the approaching Moto2 format), or d) some combination of the above. Whichever power plants are chosen, they won’t likely enjoy anywhere near the rate of development that has been typical of the class’ last eight years. In addition to making things more affordable for the manufacturers, the hope is that this will solve the crisis of thinning grids. (Ironically, two teams—Italy’s FB Corse, equipped with BMW’s aborted Oral project and with John Hopkins supposedly as rider; and Spain’s Inmotec, with Ivan Silva using their own machine—claim they’ll race at least part of next year’s 800cc series.)

In fact, some in the paddock predicted that because of the current seriousness of the economic crisis and the fact that the contract between the MSMA and Dorna expires after next year, we could see this new format as early as 2011. Whatever the case, Infront Sports isn’t likely to take kindly to this development, which represents a potential infringement on World Superbike territory, although word is that their series will also soon be dealing with the daunting economic realities by adopting a new look that’s more production-based, similar to Superstock.

As for the aforementioned final round, it was one of Dani Pedrosa’s signature checkouts, as the Spaniard dominated in front of his home-country, 94,177-strong crowd (175,240 over three days). The fantastic four were left three strong following Stoner’s warm-up-lap crash, and all were on the podium (Valentino Rossi was runner-up, Jorge Lorenzo third), but after them, the big story was the American finishers. Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden completed the top five, but at least as impressive in his Yamaha MotoGP debut was Ben Spies, who finished seventh. The Texan had to make several passes to notch that result, and by race’s end, he was the fourth-fastest rider, his best lap coming on the final go-around.

Spies had said before the race that he didn’t expect to ride the early laps to the bike’s or tires’ limit, but that he was interested to see his lap times with worn rubber toward race’s end. He certainly had to be happy with what he saw, and it only got better in the post-race test (more on that in a minute).

I’m pretty sure this was the first Grand Prix I’ve ever been to at which two of the three pole-earners didn’t start their respective races. In addition to Stoner’s misfortune (which he and Ducati insist wasn’t his fault), Alex Debon crashed in 250cc qualifying after setting the session’s fastest time and was unable to compete on Sunday.

It’s a shame, because the Spaniard missed a hell of a race. The final quarter-liter Grand Prix was a dramatic affair, with Hiroshi Aoyama refusing to play it safe despite enjoying a comfortable points advantage entering the race. A high-speed collision and resultant off-track excursion had his title hopes hanging by a thread, but Hiro kept it upright and brought the format’s final platform to Honda.

I mentioned the test up above, but as I was only there for the first day, let’s hand off to David Emmett of www.motogpmatters.com, who stuck around for the duration:

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Thanks, CJ.

Less than twenty-four hours after the 2009 season ended with the final Grand Prix of the season, the MotoGP riders old and new were back in action, testing in preparation for 2010. The tests kicked off at 1 p.m. Monday, allowing the riders and teams a bit of a lie in to recover from the festivities at Sunday night’s official MotoGP awards ceremony, but even that wasn’t enough for some. Reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi didn’t roll out on track until 3 p.m.—the Italian had allegedly been seen leaving the end-of-season party at 6 a.m. Hiroshi Aoyama, the last 250cc World Champion, did get out at 1 p.m., but he told us on Tuesday that he couldn’t remember anything about the tests from Monday, so it would be fair to suspect that Aoyama was up past his usual bedtime on Sunday too.

The tests were a chance for the teams to try a few new things, and just about everything was new there. A bevy of former 250 riders slung their legs over MotoGP bikes for the first time, joining the more experienced riders; the factories rolled up with new parts everywhere: new chassis, new suspension, new engines, new electronics. Even the teams saw some drastic changes, with personnel shifting places in some teams, while two completely new squads hit the track for the first time.

All that novelty did not change much at the top of the timesheets. Casey Stoner finished the test as the fastest rider, just as he had been in almost every session except the race, which he had not even started after a bizarre high-side crash on the warm-up lap. That crash was later put down to Ducati’s “grid strategy,” but Stoner denied that had anything to do with it. The Australian was still nonplussed by the incident, saying he could find no explanation for it, as he had done nothing different on Sunday than he had done for the last two years. Stoner hinted it was a problem with the tire, saying that although in general the Bridgestones had been fantastic, there had been very occasional quality-control problems, such as happened to Dani Pedrosa at Motegi early in the season.

The Australian hit testing unfazed from the crash, however. Both he and Ducati Marlboro teammate Nicky Hayden spent a lot of time evaluating three different engine configurations, including a radically revised firing order that turns the engine into far more of a “big bang” configuration. Standing out on the track, watching Jorge Lorenzo chase Stoner and Hayden through Turn 13, that glorious long left-hander, the three engines sounded almost identical, more of a booming baritone than the screaming soprano emitted by Mika Kallio’s satellite Ducati.

The altered exhaust note wasn’t the only noticeable difference. There was also a distinct lack of the machine-gun rattle of traction control cutting in, the smoother power delivery presumably reducing the need for TC to take over control of the rear wheel. The aim of the new engine was twofold, Ducati chief designer Filippo Preziosi said: to smooth the power delivery and give the rider more control, and to use less traction control, thereby wasting less fuel. This means more gas in the tank for the last laps, and more speed throughout the entire race.

Both Hayden and Stoner pronounced themselves happy with the engine, saying it gave a better feel. “It gives a better connection between your wrist and the engine,” is how Stoner described the improvements. There had been some sacrifices; drive out of several corners was reduced, but overall the feeling was better. The bike now needed a slightly different setup—setup has been the bugbear of the Ducati especially for Nicky all year—but once the team figured that out, both riders were confident of big things for 2010.

The changes were almost as radical at Honda. The factory brought a new engine, new chassis and a new swingarm, and Pedrosa was testing the Ohlins suspension. The Spaniard said it was taking him a long time to get used to the feel of the Swedish suspension, as it felt so completely different to the Showa kit he had been using all the time he had been riding a Honda. Despite spending his time making big changes to the suspension just to find out how it felt, Pedrosa managed to post a time within 0.045 seconds of Stoner, and still under the 1:32 barrier. The new chassis and swingarm were a definite improvement, according to both Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, Dovi being especially pleased with the added stability on the brakes the chassis provided. But the engine response remained the same, as aggressive as ever. Rumors continue to circulate that Honda will be dumping their own HRC-developed electronics package and switching to Magneti Marelli, speculation fueled by the signing of three electronics specialists from Yamaha who have been credited with getting the Italian electronics to work on the Japanese bike. The wildest rumor was that one of the Hondas was running around with a full set of Magneti Marelli electronics already fitted, but no confirmation could be obtained. The fact that the bikes sat under tarpaulins or behind closed doors when not out on the track did not help calm the speculation.

Yamaha had the least to test—just a revised chassis and a few electronics settings—but Lorenzo made the most of them, finishing the test 0.005 seconds faster than Pedrosa and just 0.04 seconds slower than Stoner. Rossi was over half a second off the front three, but pronounced himself happy with the progress the factory had made. The Italian was clearly in no mood for testing, and was still celebrating his ninth World Championship.

Ben Spies was another Yamaha rider to have made progress. While his new teammate Colin Edwards was laid up in his motorhome by Tuesday, sick with suspected food poisoning, Spies continued on the upward path he had been following all weekend. Spies basically improved his times by about half a second a day, each day that he tested. What’s more, all his times were set on a bike that was basically untouched from the base setup provided by the Yamaha test team, whose bike he raced on Sunday. Spies focused on adapting his riding style, letting off the front brake earlier and carrying more speed through the corner, in pursuit of the limits of the front tire. By the end of the second (and for the Yamaha riders, final) day of testing, Spies said he was learning to trust in the seemingly limitless grip the Bridgestones afforded him. Spies departed the MotoGP paddock leaving a sizable impression behind him.

Spies was the fastest of the MotoGP rookies by far, though the comparison was not really fair. Spies and Aleix Espargaro have already had time on the MotoGP bikes, whereas Marco Simoncelli, Alvaro Bautista, and Aoyama had never had an outing on a MotoGP bike before, and several of the riders had never even ridden a four-stroke previously. Aspar Ducati rider Hector Barbera was surprisingly the best of the “pure” rookies, the Valencia native quickly up to speed with the difficult Ducati. Simoncelli was second-fastest rookie, ahead of Bautista and Aoyama. Aoyama started the test using no traction control at all, only gradually feeding in tiny amounts as the test progressed. But his biggest problem, he said after day two, was the brakes. They felt unlike anything he’d ever ridden with, and he was taking some time getting used to them.

The rookies will now have an extra opportunity to test, though it is unclear just who will actually avail themselves of that chance. Bautista and Suzuki head off to Estoril next week for three days at the Portuguese circuit, while Aoyama will be at Sepang just before Christmas. Spies is almost certain not to do any extra tests, Tech3 team boss Herve Poncharal being vehemently opposed to the extra rookie tests, and Spies perfectly happy with the progress made so far.

The other note of interest at the post-race tests were the Moto2 machines. They were certainly interesting to watch, but working out the times being set was incredibly chaotic. Some riders, such as American Kenny Noyes and Spaniard Joan Olive, were sharing a bike, and it was only by asking veteran journalist and Kenny’s father Dennis Noyes that we were able to work out who had set what time on the Promoracing Moto2 bike fielded by Hollywood star Antonio Banderas. Similarly, Toni Elias and Superstock 1000 champion Xavier Simeon were sharing a bike, while Hector Faubel was out without a transponder, making timing a matter of clocking the Spaniard manually or working out how much Faubel’s crew chief was exaggerating the Spaniard’s times by.

At the end of the three days, Elias was the fastest of the Moto2 riders, much as had been expected. The former MotoGP rider complained bitterly about a lack of power, though, despite the reasonable times he had posted, on the Moriwaki prototype rather than the version painted in Gresini colors. Noyes pronounced himself satisfied with the second-fastest time, just half a second off Elias’ best time. The Promoracing bike—which uses a Harris frame, as did the WCM MotoGP bike back in 2003—is using a minimally prepared Honda engine, with just a basic HRC kit added to boost the power. In this trim, the team reckoned the bike was well over 20 horsepower down on what the final-spec Moto2 engine will produce, but the lower power spec should not interfere with the chassis development.

Venezuelan AMA Pro racer Robertino Pietri is also entered in Moto2 with the Sprint Technology Racing team, and Roger Lee Hayden is a possibility to ride in the class with the JiR team. Rog’s position is dependent on the Kentuckian bringing sponsorship money into the team, Nicky told reporters, saying that the sums involved were not inconsequential. “Second Chance Auto Sales ain’t bringin’ in the kind of money they say they need!” quipped Nicky.

That’s it from me, and for testing this year. With the exception of the rookie tests, the MotoGP paddock heads home for a long and well-earned rest. The MotoGP field won’t assemble again for three and a half months, the next test planned for Sepang in the middle of February. It’s going to be a very, very long winter for MotoGP fans.

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Thanks for the help, David, and keep up the good work over at www.motogpmatters.com.

Just a couple more things before we wrap this thing up: One is a follow-up on the recent news that Harley-Davidson is discontinuing the Buell line, as I received two related photos this week. One is from an anonymous contributor who says the image is evidence of Harley’s cold-heartedness. The other is from RRX contributing photographer John Hanson, who thinks he just may have captured what had been meant to be a new 2010 model, which he spied not far from Milwaukee.

I left Italy too early to catch the charity motocross race that Valentino Rossi is putting on Sunday near his Tavullia home. Among the road racers competing in the dirt are Vale and his father Graziano (who held a similar event thirty years ago), Loris Capirossi, Carlos Checa, Ivan Clemente, Alex de Angelis, Elvio Deganello, Raffaele De Rosa, Andrea Dovizioso, Aleix and Pol Espargaro, Alessandro Gramigni, Gianfranco Guareschi, Marco Lucchinelli, Marco Melandri, Gianluca Nanelli, Luca Pasini, Jonathan Rea, Max Sabbatini, Mauro Sanchini, Kevin Schwantz, Julian Simon, Marco Simoncelli, Lorenzo Zanetti, and (if the mad bike-search I saw him engaged in at EICMA was successful) Larry Pegram.

Speaking of Rossi, did you see this hilarious cut-and-paste job that was making the rounds this week?

Okay, look for an EICMA slide show next week, and I’ll talk to you next week, by time I hope that things have slowed down, we’ve put this magazine deadline behind us, and I don’t feel like I’ve just suffered a beat-down and then ridden Disneyland’s spinning-teacup ride.