MotoGP: Rossi quickest in testing so far

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The boys are out there right now, hauling the mail. Vinales looks great on the Yamaha, Rossi so far is the fastest man on the track, turning a 1:30.9.

The new bikes look phenomenal, some beautiful livery out there (Just have to use synecdoche once in a while).

I could not quite put my finger on it at first but I felt the bikes looked very sleek and nice.

Then I realized those stupid cowcatchers and surfboards were gone, leaving some very sleek fairings.

Good riddance to winglets.

Yamaha's new livery is stunning, not sure if it will remain for the racing but for the test season, it's gorgeous. Made up to look like a jet fighter, replete with the warning decals and safety orange borders.

[the Ferret]

A lot of the prototype 17s are black and it makes you realize how much colors play in the enjoyment of watching the races and identifying the riders.

Dovi and Crutchlow running well. Lorenzo not so much so far.

The slow mo photography is so cool. Pol Espargaros slow mo crash was best example I have ever seen of a front end tucking.

Boy the new Honda prototypes sound weird. Must have done something with the firing order.

Lorenzo just went out again. Black Duc with wings, black leathers

VInales just posted top time on the Yamaha prototype.

[the Ferret]

Lorenzo just put in 3rd place lap on 2016 Ducati, 2017 Ducati warming up in pits

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On this morning again on BeIn Sports 8am to 11am Eastern.

[the Ferret]

After morning session Dovisioso leading ahead of Marquez. Lorenzo just heading out
Dovi
Marq
Lorenzo
Pedrosa
VInales

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Vinales well into the hunt now. I think I first noticed this guy could ride at COTA.

The Suzuki is a much better-handling bike than the Yamaha for his aggessive style; the Honda and Suzuki have similar, loose chassis and can be muscled around.

If Suzuki picks up a little more power for 2017 I believe their chassis is better than Honda's (Marquez was running a 2014 chassis in 2016) and they've got a serious chance, with the bike, at a championship. But without Maverick, probably not.

Then again, Maverick may not be able to get the Yamaha to work for him the way Marquez has adapted to the Honda.

Fast and loose is what's needed to win the championships; I know Lorenzo put on a good show last weekend, at a home track that's smooth as glass, but even so, Marquez would have caught and passed him in one more lap, and and would've done had he not been held up by a lousy start and a pack of great riders battling for second.

Going to be watching with interest! Day two live now...
Rossi rolling out of the pits now, in beautiful new livery and the new engine...I like the stealth livery and leathers many of the other teams are sporting. Lorenzo's black/orange are aggressive.
I just have to comment on the matter of style; the Ducat pits are full of guys who clearly spend plenty of time in front of a mirror and with a hair stylist. It could be taken as intimidating, this gaggle of well set-up chaps sipping espresso, quite confident, with their perfectly-trimmed Van Dyke beards and teased flat-tops, well-coiffed to say the least.

Then we have Rossi, the fastest Italian in history, looking like a California boy fresh from the surf, with his earrings and mussy hair. Image isn't everything!
Vinales' riding reminds me more of Schwantz than of anyone else. He's got that Yamaha set up very loose, quite different than Rossi or Lorenzo. He hangs off more with the butt cheek and does more counterweighting to keep the bike under control at the limit. And he likes to really "snap" the bike into turns.
What is funny is that any Ducati or Aprilia supersport bike you might want to buy comes with suspension that is unbelievably stiff, far too stiff to even work on a racetrack. Loose is better as we are once again seeing.

But "stiff" sells bikes, riders think it's "race ready" or something. I tried once again to set my CB1100's suspension to position #2 for damping and it was just too darn stiff. The bike likes it softer. Getting rid of those winglets, and simplifying the electronics package, are good things, they give the rider more control and weed out the guys without that very rare talent.

Frankly, I stopped watching racing for over ten years because it just looked like a parade after they went to the four-strokes. Now we are getting back to some real racing. Not as exciting as the heyday of the Americans and Aussies, snapping and wheelying those 500s, but pretty good.

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[url=http://www.sportrider.com/motogp-ducatis-dalligna-bring-on-no-winglet-lorenzo-era]Kent Kunitsugu, the editor of Sport Rider, teamed up with Manuel Pecino this time on a tech article concerning winglets, featuring commentary from Ducatis' top man, Gigi Dall’Igna.

Of great interest to me, along with the fact Kunitisugu took a byline on this piece (normally Pecino handles these) was this comment by Kunitsugu:

The big question on everyone’s mind was the winglet ban for 2017. Ducati started the winglet craze in MotoGP, and are widely thought to have benefitted the most from the aerodynamic advantages. That Ducati was the trailblazer for this technical breakthrough of sorts was not lost on Dall’Igna.

Kent shows just the very slightest inclination toward politics here; note the phrases "winglet craze" and "widely thought".

Kent's obviously been informed about the true nature of these things; they were used to intimidate the competition. Everyone else jumped on the bandwagon but to no avail. No wonder Dall'Igna does not mourn their loss!
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Aaarggggghhh...they're as useless as the fins on automobiles of the 1950s.

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Final Results:

1 25 M. VIÑALES 1:29.975
2 93 M. MARQUEZ +0.196
3 4 A. DOVIZIOSO +0.468
4 29 A. IANNONE +0.624
5 26 D. PEDROSA +0.711
6 35 C. CRUTCHLOW +0.734
7 46 V. ROSSI +0.734
8 99 J. LORENZO +0.769
9 41 A. ESPARGARO +0.910
10 94 J. FOLGER +0.973

[the Ferret]

2017 is going to be a great year for MotoGP

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2017 is going to be a great year for MotoGP

Could not agree more and spring is afar off.

I think Rossi will be upstaged by his new "team mate" Vinales. Something Rossi is not comfortable with.