MotoGP 2004 (was: pre-MotoGP)

[Jure007]

Abe bo letos dirkal celo sezono

Norick Abe je sporočil, da se pripravlja na dirkanje v celotni sezoni 2004. 28-letni, izkušeni dirkač, ki je lani opravljal testne naloge za japonsko Yamaho, na svoji internetni strani še ni mogel dati točnejših podatkov o moštvu, pri katerem bo dirkal, zagotovil pa je, da bo konec januarja že testiral motocikel tega moštva. Tudi zato so se spet pojavile govorice, ki Abeja povezujejo z Yamahinim tovarniškim moštvom, kjer naj bi zamenjal Alexa Barrosa, ki si že dolgo želi k Repsol Hondi. Brazilec ima z glavnim sponzorjem Yamahinih moštev veljavno pogodbo, ki bi jo moral prekiniti, nad čimer pa pri Yamahi ob koncu lanske sezone še niso bili preveč navdušeni.

Abe je na svoji strani zapisal: “Dosegel sem dogovor o nastopanju v sezoni 2004. Podrobnosti o moštvu bom objavil kmalu in naj bi ob koncu januarja že testiral.” Abe je v lanski sezoni na petih dirkah nastopil kot zamenjava za pškodovanega Marca Melandrija ali kot povabljenec. Kljub temu, da je izpustil enajst dirk, je sezono še vedno končal na šestnajstem mestu, kar je bolje od Kennyja Robertsa ali Garryja McCoyja. Za Melandrijem, svojim morebitnim novim kolegom v moštvu, je zaostal vsega 14 točk.

[Jure007]

The MotoGP World Championship will undergo a small make over for the 2004 season with starting grids narrowed to three riders per row, while the 125cc and 250cc will remain unchanged, and a new 'drive-through' penalty, organisers the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) announced on Thursday.

In order to do away with the superficial ten-second penalty or the laborious stop and go penalty, riders will now be required to ride through the pit lane at the required speed limit. To prevent competitors taking ride-through penalties at the same time, riders will be signalled to ride through on subsequent laps with precedence based on qualifying times.

eurosport.com

še po slovensko za tiste ki so se v šoli učili vse-kaj-drugega samo abgleščine ne :D:D

Odslej po trije v vrsti

Mednarodna motociklistična zveza je objavila spremembe pravil za leto 2004. Le-te so največje pri načinu oblikovanja štartne vrste in kaznovanju dirkačev med dirko. V razredu MotoGP bodo dirkači letos tako štartali v formaciji 3-3-3-3, torej po trije v vsaki štartni vrsti, med dirko pa ne bodo več kaznovani s kaznijo “stop and go”, pač pa bodo morali le peljati skozi bokse.

V razredih do 250 in 125 ccm bodo dirkači še vedno štartali tako kot lani, torej štirje v vrsti. Štartna mesta bodo zamaknjena tako kot doslej, razdalja med štartnimi vrstami pa bo devet metrov.

[Herbie]

Barros k Hondi?

Ljubljana - Brazilski motociklist Alex Barros, ki tekmuje v motociklističnem svetovnem prvenstvu Moto GP, naj bi pred začetkom sezone 2004 od Yamahe prestopil k Repsol Hondi in zasedel sedež svetovnega prvaka Valentina Rossija.

Dolgo pričakovano novico naj bi Honda uradno objavila konec meseca januarja. Po pisanju brazilskih časnikov naj bi dolžina pogodbe Honda sporočila ob sklenitvi partnerstva.

Barros je novico potrdil: "To je moja velika priložnost. Zasedel bom motocikel svetovnega prvaka in s tem prevzel branjenje naslova svetovnega prvaka med konstruktorji."

Brazilski dirkač je trenutno doma v Sao Paolu, kjer nadaljuje s fizioterapijo. Ob koncu sezone so mu namreč operirali staro poškodbo ramena.

(SiOL)

Kaj pravte a je svetovni prvak že znan oziroma ali se mislite da se bo Barros dobro odrezal?

[andrej]

Dodajam le eno zanimivo MotoGP sliko...

[Profi]

Dodajam le eno zanimivo MotoGP sliko...

Ivan Šola ga je dal na komolc pred desetimi leti :naughty: :devil:

[Petzl]

ko ga pa enkrat tko peles pa sam :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

[Jure007]

Barros še ni podpisal

Moštvo Repsol Honda je zanikalo govorice, da je Brazilec Alex Barros že podpisal pogodbo, po kateri naj bi pri njih dirkal v letošnji sezoni. Športni šef HRC-ja (Honda Racing) Carlo Fiorani je za uradno internetno stran svetovnega motociklističnega prvenstva dejal, da je prepričan, da bo Barros podpisal pogodbo z moštvom kot zamenjava za svetovnega prvaka Valentina Rossija, vendar so poročila italijanskih in brazilskih medijev o tem, da je pogodba že sklenjena, daleč od resnice. Najprej mora Barros razrešiti vprašanje pogodbe z Yamaho in njenim glavnim sponzorjem Altadisom, ki je v sezoni 2004 še veljavna.

"Preden bomo lahko objavili zasedbo moštva v letošnji sezoni, moramo počakati na Alexov odgovor,” je dejal Fiorani. “Doslej z Alexove strani še nismo dobili potrditve, prav tako pa tudi ne z Yamahine niti Altadisove strani. Kar se tiče nas, ni nič novega, zagotovo pa ni podpisane nobene pogodbe.”

Honda bo 20. januarja začela s testnim programom v Sepangu, Fiorani pa je dejal, da ne bodo hiteli z odločitvijo, če Barrosu ne bo uspelo prekiniti pogodbe z Altadisom. “Ni potrebe po kakšnem hitenju, saj sem prepričan, da stvar lahko razrešimo,” je dejal. “V vsakem primeru Alex ne more dirkati do sredine februarja, ker okreva po operaciji rame, zato se nam, ponavljam, ne mudi. Trenutno se ne pogajamo z nobenim drugim dirkačem in prepričan sem, da bomo rešitev za Alexa našli kmalu.”

[Guzzila]

Tudi Kawasaki bo pripravil nov motor za leto 2004, podvozje bo razvil švicarski strokovnjak Eskil Suter. Ravno vodljivost je bila njihova najšibkejša točka v minuli sezoni. Ampak slidali pa so fenomenalno - to morate priznati.

Moštvo zbrano okoli bivšega GP-pilota Haralda Eckla si obeta boljše čase. To jim tudi od srca želim. Greeeeeeeen is Meeeeeeean !!! :yea2:

Popravljeno Januar 14, 2004. Popravil KAWAMAN

[TNT]

No sedaj pa vemo skoraj vse ...

Alex Barros finally confirmed at Honda

Alex Barros has finally been confirmed as a Honda rider, replacing Valentino Rossi in the Repsol Honda squad for the 2004 MotoGP World Championship. Although official details are yet to be released by Honda, it has emerged that the Brazilian rider has liberated himself from the remaining year of his contract with Yamaha and Altadis and is now free to return to the factory with whom he took his last win, riding the RC211V at Valencia in the final round of the 2002 season.

Barros, who endured a nightmare season riding the M1 in 2003, crashing fourteen times and making the podium just once, is still recovering from an operation to repair damage to a shoulder injury sustained at the Sachsenring back in July. However, he was due to complete a few demonstration laps riding a Honda street-bike in Sao Paolo on Friday and official details regarding the deal are expected to be announced soon.

[Gionni]

Hej! :afro1:

Mene pa zanima, če so že kake slike Rossija z njegovo novo Yamaho M1.

Sigurno bo mal drugačna od ostalih :D

[Dave]

Hej! :afro1:

Mene pa zanima, če so že kake slike Rossija z njegovo novo Yamaho M1.

Sigurno bo mal drugačna od ostalih :D

Ce me spomin ne vara, zacne testirat cez en teden, tako da dvomim, da obstaja prav veliko slik.

[Špilferderber]

dvomim v to....sem poslal mejl hiši...bomo vidli kaj povedo....

vprašanje od uboge pare (glej prejšnje poste :lol1: ) : nove informacije?

[TNT]

Exclusive: watch Rossi make his Yamaha debut

This weekend www.motograndprix.com are offering you the unique opportunity to watch history in the making as Valentino Rossi makes his eagerly-anticipated debut with Yamaha at Sepang. Rossi is set to complete his first day of tests aboard the YZR-M1 on Saturday 24th January, and you will be able to watch how he gets on with action footage and an interview with the MotoGP World Champion just moments after the test.

A mogoce kdo ve ce bodo to prikazali tudi na Eurosportu???? Ali pa ce bo kdo lahko dobil kaksen filmcek tega dogodka ter ga seveda ponudil na ogled?

[BINCA]

Prihajajo prve fotke Vale&Yama :yea2:

[TinaRR]

Rossifumi rulles.... :yea2:

Lp YZFR1

[BINCA]

Že leti kot sneta skira :naughty:

Rossi enters a new era with Yamaha debut in Sepang

After a wait of over two months since the end of the 2003 season, and a further hour for photo-calls for the amassed media throng this morning, MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi finally opened the throttle for the first time on the Yamaha YZR-M1 motorcycle, as the 24 year-old Italian begins a new era of his already illustrious career. The flamboyant star has won the MotoGP World Championship for the past three years on board a Honda, dominating his opponents during that time. However, having made the decision to leave the Honda factory to pursue a new challenge, he now finds himself as the spearhead for their traditional rivals, Yamaha.

After his first test-day on board his new bike at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, Rossi was already top of the time sheets and revealed that he was happy with both his and the bike’s performance. ”This is obviously a very important move for me, and I was very excited before getting on the bike,” said Rossi. “My first impressions are quite good. You have some ideas about the other bikes when you run with them on the circuit and, sincerely, I expected more big problems, but more or less the bike is okay. It has some things less than Honda, but also some good, and it is basically not so bad.”

Rossi's Crew Chief Jerry Burgess, who made the switch with him from Honda after 20 years with the Japanese factory, commented: "We didn't really do much more than get him familiar with the bike. It takes a while to get eye co-ordination back after a long lay-off and we just made minor refinements to deliver what Valentino wants from the bike. What we're looking for is information to work out the direction we need to go in - and we're all working together in that.

"

Rossi and his team-mate Carlos Checa were joined by Yamaha colleagues Marco Melandri and Norick Abe today as the teams and bikes were unveiled for the first time. Melandri and Abe will ride for the Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Team, the privately-owned French team run by Hervé Poncharal, all running the latest spec Yamaha YZR-M1. All four riders spent the whole day getting comfortable on their machines, with temperatures lower than usual due to a light breeze and the cloud cover over the region. All were pleased with the first day back in the saddle, although Melandri complained of soreness after undergoing a shoulder operation in the winter.

"I've spent almost 100 days without riding," said the Italian. "But my shoulder should loosen up tomorrow and I will improve. Even so I was a tenth of a second faster than my best race lap here last year."

The Yamaha tests continue for two more days at the Sepang circuit.

Unofficial lap times

Valentino Rossi – 2’03.80 (58 laps)

Carlos Checa – 2’04.10 (53 laps)

Marco Melandri 2’05.40 (48 laps)

Norick Abe – 2’05.84 (50 laps)

[TNT]

Samo za primerjavo rezultati Hond, vozijo pa se lanskoletne modele (z nekaj izboljsavami). Me zanima kaksen bo Rossijev lap time zadnji dan??? :naughty:

Unofficial lap times

Max Biaggi - 2’02.585 (50 laps)

Sete Gibernau – 2’02.7

Tohru Ukawa – 2’03.2 (76 laps)

Nicky Hayden - 2’03.2 (68 laps)

Colin Edwards – 2’03.3 (38 laps)

Makoto Tamada – 2’03.5 (30 laps)

[bajsi]

Me zanima kaksen bo Rossijev lap time zadnji dan??? :naughty:

Ne se kurit! :zzz: Prva dirka bo dala odgovore oz. zmagovalca.... :naughty:

LP Bajsi

[TNT]

Ah ... mal se je pa treba! :xx: Se mal pa bo ze v 2'02 zoni! :notworthy:

Unofficial lap times

Valentino Rossi – 2’03.17 (66 laps)

Carlos Checa – 2’03.57 (58 laps)

Norick Abe – 2’04.90 (61 laps)

Marco Melandri – 2’04.90 (36 laps)

[flero]

The Kawasaki MotoGP team rolled out an entirely new bike for testing at Sepang, Malaysia this week, and introduced it to returning rider Alex Hofmann, and a new member of the squad, Shinya Nakano. Shod with Bridgestone tires (the Kawasaki team used Dunlops, last year), the new bike, now ridden two days by Nakano (Hofmann spent the first day on the older bike) was quickly gaining the pace.

During his second day on the bike, and second day within the team, Nakano posted a lap time within one second of five of the Honda MotoGP stars also testing at Sepang (including Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards, Sete Gibernau, Makoto Tamada and Tohru Ukawa). Impressive? Downright astonishing, given Kawasaki's performance in 2003.

If Nakano leaves the test at Sepang (which is continuing) on the pace with the Honda boys, it will be a clear indication that Kawasaki has made a massive step towards competitiveness in the MotoGP series for 2004. We hope Kawasaki has entered the mix -- it just makes MotoGP that much more exciting.

green team ga tud seka z Akrotam :grim !!!

[flero]

:grim Confidence High at Fuchs Kawasaki :grim

Press Release Issued By Kawasaki Racing (January 23, 2004)

MotoGP World Championship 2004

Preseason Testing - Sepang, Malaysia

23rd January 2004 - For Immediate Release

The Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team concluded an extremely successful four-day test at Malaysia's Sepang circuit today, with both riders and team technical staff declaring themselves satisfied with the progress made with the latest version of Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine.

For Alex Hofmann, the first test of 2004 ended in the best way possible, with the 23-year-old German rider posting his fastest lap of the four days during today's final session. Hofmann, who spent this morning evaluating different rear suspension settings on his Ninja ZX-RR, is confident that further improvements will be achieved when the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team return to Sepang on February 11th.

Shinya Nakano completed 34 laps aboard his Ninja ZX-RR during today's fourth and final day of testing, working his way through a selection of Bridgestone front and rear tyres, as well as evaluating different front suspension settings. Nakano, from Chiba Prefecture in Japan, was a little disappointed not to improve upon his fastest lap time today, but overall, the 26-year-old Japanese rider was satisfied with his progress during this, his first outing as a Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team rider.

Alex Hofmann: best time - 2:04.43 (45 laps)

"We started out this morning evaluating different rear linkages, together with the frame that Shinya has been using for the past three days. We also tested some more Bridgestone rear slicks and made a few improvements in other areas. It was good to finish this afternoon with my fastest lap of the four days and it's been fun working with the new guys in the team; they've put in a lot of hard work this week. We've made some big steps forward with different components on the bike, now we need to bring everything together, ready for when we return here next month. Overall, I'm totally happy with how things have gone this week and I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike again in two week's time."

Shinya Nakano: best time - 2:04.47 (34 laps)

"We continued with the tyre test programme today, but we also managed to test some changes to the front suspension that definitely gave an improvement in feeling. I also tried the rear tyre on which Alex set his fastest lap, but we had a small problem with the bike and I didn't get the chance to try a fast lap on it. It was a little disappointing not to improve my lap time today, but I'm confident that we can go faster when we return here for our second test. Overall, I am very happy with my new bike, and the new team have worked well together over the past four days. I will visit the Kawasaki factory in Japan at the end of this month and, hopefully, the feedback I am able to give the engineers will enable them to improve the bike further before we come back to Sepang in February."

Harald Eckl: Team Manager

"This has definitely been a successful first test for us. Shinya has adapted well to the Ninja ZX-RR during the four days, while Alex has also impressed with his lap time today. The fact that all our new team members have been able to work together, both with each other and with the riders, certainly bodes well for the future. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do before the season gets underway in South Africa, but we leave here confident that we're definitely moving in the right direction with the latest version of the Ninja ZX-RR."

[BONO]

Ma saj je lepo brat, če so pri Kawasakiju zadovoljni in optimistični- full jim privoščim da bi uspeli, toda za Hondo zaostajajo še vedno 2 sekundi

[BINCA]

Sepang, Malaysia

26/1/2004

Valentino Rossi

In gruelling heat Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team) was inside his own previous lap record of 2m 03.82 seconds at the 5.548km Sepang track in testing today. He recorded a best time of 2m 02.75 seconds :yea2: in the final session of this intensive three-day test putting in a total of 59 laps. But the reigning MotoGP World Champion is keen to put in more hard development work here in just over two weeks time.

"We did some good work," he said. "The time we made was good for a first test, but tyres and chassis settings were the main aim here. I've really enjoyed my first three days with Yamaha, I'm very happy. There's still work to do on the engine and we'll carry on with that, but overall things have been good."

The World Champion's Crew Chief Jerry Burgess was quietly satisfied with events. "I guess we're doing okay," he said. "We've achieved enough for a fast time and we were running according to the Michelin test programme. Things have been very harmonious in terms of integration with Yamaha and now we'll go away and work on whatever the Yamaha Development Group have got for us."

Carlos Checa

Rossi's team-mate Carlos Checa (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team) who rode a best lap of 2m 03.72 seconds during an arduous 88-lap stint, was happy with the endurance work he did and feels there is more to come from chassis settings in the weeks ahead.

"The bike feels better with the 16.5-inch front tyre," said the hard-charging Spaniard who tried both 17-inch and 16.5-inch fronts. "The race endurance test was not so bad, and this was only the first test of the season. Of course we've got more to do but we have all we need to achieve results."

Checa's Crew Chief Antonio Jimenez was content with the three days work at this early stage of the testing programme. "The race simulation distance test provided valuable information for us," he said. "We were focussed on that and this is just the beginning of our programme."

Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio was frank about his surprise at the rapid progress made here at Sepang. "I didn't honestly expect we'd be at his level so soon," he said. But the Italian expressed caution too. "All our competitors will work hard this winter too, but this is a good first test to motivate everyone in the team and everyone from Yamaha."

Marco Melandri (Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Team) rode 52 laps and put in a best time of 2m 05.55 seconds. "Better than yesterday," said the tough Italian, still sore from recent shoulder surgery. "In the end the bike was okay but I took time to adjust to the 16.5-inch front tyre I tried today. At the moment my mind is strong but not my body."

Norick Abe (Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Team) couldn't quite make the most of a selection of Michelin tyres that suited his style well. "That was a bit so-so," said the experienced Japanese rider. "We're still not quite there with the settings, but we have not worked together before as a team. Even so I couldn't get the time I felt the tyres were capable of." Abe rode 52 laps with a best lap of 2m 05.05 seconds.

Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 Team Director Herve Poncharal believes his newly formed team benefited greatly from this Yamaha-only test. "We needed this first test to establish communication with new riders. For Marco this is his first ride since Phillip Island last year and he's not 100% fit yet. The 16.5-inch front tyre is helping him and we weren't here for lap times anyway - that's not an excuse - it's a fact. Norick is more of a racer than a tester and he looks very motivated. As the team begins to understand his needs more, we can expect more from him too."

[TNT]

Hudoooo ... je ze znotraj dveh desetink od najboljse honde!!! Ce bo slo tko naprej, se nam letos obeta prava poslastica. :fight1:

V vsakem primeru bomo zmagovalci mi!!! :beer2:

Popravljeno Januar 26, 2004. Popravil TNT

[flero]

Sepang MotoGP Testing Times

Max Biaggi - Honda - 2:02.585

Sete Gibernau - Honda - 2:02.70

Valentino Rossi - Yamaha - 2:02.75

Nicky Hayden - Honda - 2:03.20

Tohru Ukawa (test rider) - Honda - 2:03.20

Colin Edwards - Honda - 2:03.30

Makoto Tamada - Honda - 2:03.50

Carlos Checa - Yamaha - 2:03.57

John Hopkins - Suzuki - 2:03.xx

Alex Hoffman - Kawasaki - 2:04.43

Shinya Nakano - Kawasaki - 2:04.47

Marco Melandri - Yamaha - 2:04.90

Norick Abe - Yamaha - 2:04.90

Letos bo pa fino fino!!!