Having spotted Julian Ryder (moto gp commentator on eurosports) on his stall at the Newark Classic Bike Show, i knew i had to have a chat with him about the moto gp as what he doesn't know really aint worth knowing!!   It seems that this year they are getting more bikes on the grid by allowing production parts to be used so bikes and not just prototype parts....so there will be a few bikes like bmw with production parts and it seems there will also be riders who aint that experienced in teh moto gp racing..... hmmmm this could be good, but it could also as Julian pointed out, mean that a lot of bikes get lapped after 10 laps..... i guess its good having more bikes on grid of course but is it a wastef of time having bikes that dont stand a chance against the prototypes??   and is this common knowledge yet??!!                                                                                                                                                                             

Yep common knowledge about other bikes being aloowed, should prove interesting to watch if nothing else lol                                                                                                                                                                              

Could be a few more off's with the less experienced riders being lapped. Will deffo be interesting to see.                                                                                                                                                                             

These  production based bikes also have a rule which says that any other team can claim your engine for about  15000 Euro I  think - so there is  no point spending  raffs of good money  on an  engine .. its almost  gonna be  " production GP "   IMO  MOTO 2 is much better (or has been over the last  2 seasons ), the racing is so much closer, any one of ten riders could win, grids of 38 (the max) .. great racing  AND theres  two  brits involved :)                                                                                                                                                                             

the more production based bikes  are allowed more engines over the season  & more fuel per race than the prototypes, thereby levelling the playing field a little (but not enough, i suspect). But something HAS to be done to address the low grid numbers in motogp. 

I personally believe the points system need to be seriously looked at - riders should not get points just for finishing a race, and i believe only top 10 finishers should score, until grid numbers increase                                                                                                                                                                             

One problem  that has raised its head in testing is that of the pace of the production based bikes ....  they are  some seconds a lap off the MotoGP pace .....   Agree about the points sytem - whilst numbers are so low,  maybe a points only down to 10th ..                                                                                                                                                                              

thats what i meant by top 10!! lol

i think production bikes bound to be off the pace in testing when all are using optimum conditions, but race distance when fuel etc come into account is a different matter. i am very doubtful though that they will ever really be on the pace (even non factory  bikes struggle!) and i think its "cheapening" the grid to include production bikes  - meant to be prototypes and just adding grid numbers for the sake of it sort of misses the point!                                                                                                                                                                              

I am seriously considering putting money on Ben Spies for top 3 this year                                                                                                                                                                              

i wouldnt bet against it - if he fulfills promise of his WSB championship winning season and rookie motogp year, he should be right up there (despite a bit of a "blip" by his standards last season)                                                                                                                                                                             

Really want Dovi to do well, think Honda have treated him appallingly                                                                                                                                                                               

i want dani to have an injury free year  - how much bad luck can one man have?                                                                                                                                                                             

The FIM announced changes to the MotoGP World Championship 2012 provisional calendar, which include a change of date for the opening round in Qatar, the confirmation of the Jerez circuit contract plus the designation of Sachsenring as the circuit to host the Grand Prix of Germany (pending confirmation of the contract). The new schedule for 2012 is as follows:

Date, Grand Prix - Circuit
8 April, Qatar* - Doha/Losail
29 April, Spain - Jerez de la Frontera
6 May, Portugal (STC) - Estoril
20 May, France - Le Mans
3 June, Catalunya - Catalunya
17 June, Great Britain - Silverstone
30 June, Netherlands** - Assen
8 July, Germany (STC) - Sachsenring
15 July, Italy - Mugello
29 July, United States*** - Laguna Seca
19 August, Indianapolis - Indianapolis
26 August, Czech Rep. - Brno
16 September, San Marino & Riviera di Rimini - Misano
30 September, Aragon - Motorland
14 October, Japan - Motegi
21 October, Malaysia - Sepang
28 October, Australia - Phillip Island
11 November, Valencia - Ricardo Tormo – Valencia

                                                                                                                                                                             

hmm interesting Wenders... ive always fancied goin to valencia for the last race as its near me buffdee, but money and all that.... bet ya all glad ya know that hahaha
id like to see jorge do well too as tho i didnt like him to start with he had a few bad offs and he rides with all his heart and he deserves to do well this year... im not sure how well vale is gonna do... has he got to grips with that duke yet??! and of course simoncelli will be missed - with all that passion racing..                                                                                                                                                                             

i wouldnt recommend valencia as i felt the circuit lacked in atmosphere - catalunya on the other hand is goosebumpy electric!!                                                                                                                                                                             

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/Mo...togp-bike/

Happy Happy - tickets and flight bought for Assen :)                                                                                                                                                                              

I love Ben Spies, actually I think I'll ref-phrase that, I really rate Ben Spies, definitely one for the future?

Don't like the idea of proddie second string bikes wobbling around, sounds like a nightmare for the quick boys? 2 seconds a lap! That's a life time... even if it does fill the grid up a bit. 

I am off to watch a VIDEO of Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Ron Haslam, Randy Mamola.  See yah.                                                                                                                                                                             

Lets hope Rossi and the team can make that Ducati work this year, the pressure must be on more than last year.                                                                                                                                                                              

I have a gut feeling that rossi will make the Ducati purr this year.                                                                                                                                                                             

Looking at the read up,s rossi very happy with the duke this yr.                                                                                                                                                                             

Hi to you all,
Planning to go down to Mugello in July, need some advice on a good route, places to stay, best area to stay in Mugello, camping/hotels. Best place at the circuit to see the racing. Any tips,advice would be welcome. I went down to Valencia last year and have the bug now. Thanks Bikerblue