its weird that ducati is dumping the engine as a stressed member for gp racing, but just designed the pagnale (sp) as a stressed member'ed bike.

i think ducati will do very well this year as well.

 

Not a problem BadS1, I feel ya! I have favorite riders also. Hayden, Stoner, Spies, Rossi, Edwards & the Late Super Sic. But I cheer for the Manufacture 1st... I'm a Honda guy.

 

Since Honda picked up there Marbles and went home away from AMA I honestly don't care for them in that aspect. Love there bikes hate the crying. Love to watch a great rider win on a great bike. But love even better a great rider win on a lesser of a bike.

 

Courtesy of MCN........

The 2012 MotoGP world championship line-up has been unveiled with 21 bikes starting the new 1000cc campaign in Qatar on April 8.

The grid will be split between a mixture of 12 factory prototype machines from Honda, Yamaha and Ducati and nine new CRT projects.

Australian Casey Stoner, who dominated the final 800cc campaign in 2011, has ditched his favoured number 27 to switch to the number one plate on the new Repsol Honda RC213V machine.

Former world champion Jorge Lorenzo will revert back to his number 99 on board the factory Yamaha YZR-M1.

The new CRT machines run highly tuned 1000cc production engines in a prototype chassis and have been introduced to boost dwindling grid numbers with independent teams struggling to raise budgets to lease expensive prototypes.

Colin Edwards is probably the highest profile rider on a new CRT bike and he will ride for the Forward Racing squad using a Suter chassis and a modified BMW S1000RR engine.

Ivan Silva and Yonny Hernandez will ride the FTR-Kawasaki for BQR. British chassis experts FTR will also supply the frame for Michele Pirro’s Gresini CRT bike, which will be powered by a Honda CBR1000RR motor.

Danilo Petrucci will ride the Ioda bike which will use Aprilia’s RSV4 motor.

There will be four machines designed by Aprilia on the grid under the name of ART.

Anthony West, Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro will be on the Aprilia machine, as will British rider James Ellision, who is riding for the Paul Bird Racing outfit.

There will be two Brits on the 2012 grid with Cal Crutchlow partnering Andrea Dovizioso in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad.

Provisional MotoGP entry list
1 CASEY STONER AUS - HONDA TEAM, HONDA
4 ANDREA DOVIZIOSO ITA - YAMAHA TECH 3, YAMAHA
5 COLIN EDWARDS USA - FORWARD RACING, SUTER*
6 STEFAN BRADL GER - LCR HONDA MotoGP, HONDA
8 HECTOR BARBERA SPA - PRAMAC RACING TEAM, DUCATI
9 DANILO PETRUCCI ITA - IODA RACING PROJECT, IODA*
11 BEN SPIES USA - YAMAHA FACTORY RACING, YAMAHA
13 ANTHONY WEST AUS - SPEED MASTER, ART*
14 RANDY DE PUNIET FRA - ASPAR TEAM MotoGP, ART*
17 KAREL ABRAHAM CZE - CARDION AB MOTORACING, DUCATI
19 ALVARO BAUTISTA SPA - HONDA GRESINI, HONDA
20 ALEIX ESPARGARO SPA - ASPAR TEAM MotoGP, ART*
22 IVAN SILVA SPA - BQR, BQR-FTR*
26 DANI PEDROSA SPA - HONDA TEAM, HONDA
35 CAL CRUTCHLOW GBR - YAMAHA TECH 3, YAMAHA
46 VALENTINO ROSSI ITA - DUCATI TEAM, DUCATI
51 MICHELE PIRRO ITA - HONDA GRESINI, FTR*
68 YONNY HERNANDEZ COL - BQR, BQR-FTR*
69 NICKY HAYDEN USA - DUCATI TEAM, DUCATI
77 JAMES ELLISON GBR - PAUL BIRD RACING, ART*
99 JORGE LORENZO SPA - YAMAHA FACTORY RACING, YAMAHA
*CRT

 

Nice to see a bigger grid! I guess there was a shuffling around of a few riders too. Can't wait!

 

ya, that's not that many CRTs.....

 

9 CRT's... thats almost half the field. Considering that would make only 12 left of GP bikes. That means we lost a few. Not lookin good for them to stay in the game. Bet for sure Honda cry's foul.

 

ya, i guess you're right. that's pretty good for the initial start. how many do you think will stay in the game though? i don't think many will. if they're 4 seconds off the pace a lap (and that's the fastest crt) - what's the point? they might as well be doing a track day.... whats the point to show up to some of the really far away races?

i mean, that seems like LITERALLY throwing money down a bottomless pit to race a CRT this year.

suzuki left - i don't blame them. whats the point to develop a prototype bike when GP will be all CRT in '13?

and i wouldnt blame honda for leaving either if they do next year. i totally understand.

this isn't about exciting racing on tv for a factory team. i don't think CRT is the way to get the factories back into the racing.

i mean - its not as if this is F1 racing just yet - it's not that boring. even so - putting a restraint on development for a few seasons would even be better than CRT imho.



oh well.... its not like i'm not going to watch and get as excited as i did last year and the year before...

 

To be honest GP is unaffordable for teams to get in. Heck those bike are crazy expensive and the ecomomy just won't hold it anylonger. The CRT's will get faster and faster. I've seen Rossi and hayden 3 seconds down this past year. They will develop over the coarse of this year and next. Then we may very as well see racing these bikes as totally cool. They aren't production bikes.lol Hell look how fast Moto 2 bikes are. Them damn things are faster then or as fast as WSB's.lol I'm willing to sit back and see and give them the benefit. One thing though...... damn I'll miss that sound. Makes my hair stand up along with something else.lol

 

With the economy as it is, motor sportsare trying to just survive... I think the one big thing moto racing in general has lacked is in promotion. They need to get the sponsors & fan more excited. Like NASCAR the cars are big billboards & you have companies not even related to cars involved. Moto racing most of the sponsors are mostly bike & race related, they need to get the non-biker people interested. Hopefully the CRT bikes will be just as exciting as their predecessors. I think with closely matched bikes the riders will make the racing good. I understand the manufactures use racing for R&D (research & development) & marketing, so that has to be included in the big scheme of things. Only time will tell.